


Watch the Shadows

by yeojasamho



Series: Superpowers [3]
Category: DEAN (Korean Musician), EXO (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-05-29 14:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 76,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15075200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: Taking place a few weeks after the events of Vigilantes, Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae land themselves teaching a new set of superpowered individuals who ultimately learn how to use their powers. However, when terror strikes in the form of psychic parasites, terrorists, and demons that feed on fear, they are placed on what would seem to be the ultimate suicide missions. Will they be able to conquer their fears and inner demons, and save the world?





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "Legion," as well as the X-Men universe in general. There are names and places referencing these. General plot is mine, most of the characters and other nitty gritty details aren't.

As far as Lee Sangyeon knew, he had lived a life hearing voices in his head. It was 12 when it started, and as he grew older he thought he was going insane. His parents couldn’t do anything about it, nor could he tell them what he was experiencing. But along with his age, at 22 years old, he had somehow learned how to tune everything out, and the more he learned about what he could do, the more he tried to use it for his own advantage, eventually and ultimately using it for the benefit of everyone else. 

However, he didn’t quite know how powerful he actually was, until he arrived at a facility that served as part-sanctuary, part-school for people like him. It was called Summerland. It was there that he learned that the people running Summerland were amongst those few who had saved the attack in Seoul two years prior, and were connected to those four mutants who saved the city again the previous year. These achievements further inspired Sangyeon to continue practicing how to control his powers, along with helping his fellow “students” to do the same with theirs. 

They were 12 people, described by the director of Summerland as people with extraordinary abilities that neither they nor their fellow “faculty” had seen. Sure, there were quite a few telepaths before, including the one from the four, but it wasn’t compared to what Sangyeon could do. Sangyeon would find himself in a space between reality and fantasy, the astral plane, he would find himself be separated from his body, talking to people without even leaving the room he was initially in. It was the most he could do for a telepath like him, until one night, he was woken up for a special job; to get rid of a mental trigger that turned the person into a killing machine. Sangyeon wasn’t aware however, that he would have to do a little bit more than that: Save some people, then bring her in. 

It had been a week and a few days since that job, and as he observed the situation in front of him, he had a feeling that he would be doing a lot more of the saving from now on. He stood outside the room he placed her in that night. He knew that she was important to the director and the rest of the faculty, especially to the director, who seemed to be especially worried about her. 

“Is she doing better?” His colleague, Kevin Moon, asked as he approached the threshold of the room. Kevin was gifted with enhanced senses, speed, strength, and genius-level intellect, the downside of which was that his skin was tinged a very vivid dark blue. He came to Summerland all the way from Vancouver, Canada, partly seeking refuge from being bullied for his physical appearance. 

“Yeah. She’s just resting now, as she has been ever since she was taken out of the trance,” Sangyeon explained. “Mental triggers like these are hard to take out, especially since she’s had it for 9 years. The older it is, the harder to remove.” 

Kevin looked at the sleeping girl curiously. “They’ve always said she was special to them. What was it like? Trying to save people from impending danger?” 

“Not that exciting, I have to admit” Sangyeon replied. “You’re caught up worrying about your life and the lives of other people, and thinking about the other possible outcomes of the situation you’re in” 

“Fascinating, very fascinating” Kevin smiled. “I heard Chanhee saying that she’ll be part of the faculty too. Do you think we’ll learn a lot from her?” 

Sangyeon nodded. “I know we will. I also know that Younghoon likes her, since she’s the only other person in this place who hasn’t flinched when he touches them. Gloved, of course.” 

“Speaking of Younghoon,” Kevin turned around to see their tall, handsome, and wary-looking colleague with the name. Kim Younghoon, compared to Sangyeon and Kevin, thought of his own abilities as more of a burden than a gift. He could primarily absorb the energy and life force of a person through skin contact, and in their case, he could take on their abilities for a short while, but he would nearly be killing them, as was the case with the first girl he ever kissed as a teenager. “How is training going?” 

“Great. Destroyed a stack of plates, learned all about the paranormal activities that happened in the world for the past century, and now I’m on a break” Younghoon adjusted the headband he was wearing. He turned to look at the girl in the bed, and his expression became wistful. 

Sangyeon and Kevin went up to him, but he stepped away from them, keeping his gloved hands in the pockets of his trousers. “She’ll be awake...one of these days” The telepath said quietly. “You’ll get to know her by then” he assured Younghoon. 

“Can the three of you stop ogling at her? You guys act like you’ve never seen a sleeping girl before” Chanhee suddenly appeared, making them step back. Choi Chanhee was a shapeshifter, and could transform into anyone, even taking on their voice and clothing. He had very blonde hair, icy blue eyes and, like Kevin, blue skin. 

“And how are you today?” Kevin asked him. 

“Better than ever. I’m wondering when we get to try out the Danger Room. It seems so cool” The shapeshifter was beaming. 

“They said when she wakes up, she’ll show us the ropes or something” Younghoon glanced back at the sleeping girl. 

“Then I hope she wakes up soon. Sleeping Beauty has a lot to teach us” 

“What’s gotten you so on edge?” Kevin gave him a look. “He said this is a learning process. We’re here to learn about our powers and how to control them” 

“Easy for you to say, I can’t control mine,” Younghoon said glumly. “I want to get something to eat. They’re serving meatball sandwiches at the cafeteria” he took one last look at the girl before walking off. 

~ 

Kim Jaehwan, Park Chanyeol, and Kwon Hyuk were at the cafeteria of Summerland. They had been staying as long as their friend and teammate, Lee Mirae, who had been unconscious for quite some time after having the trigger taken out of her head. She was a mutant like them, but had the ability to enhance an object’s kinetic energy, or manipulate it to her liking with or without skin contact. She could charge things and turn them into explosive projectiles while being able to heal and shield her mind from telepaths. Mirae however, had been brainwashed by her own adoptive parents to lead a supposed army to conquer the country, and had turned her into an assassin. At the end of it all, she ended up killing her adoptive parents.

They still couldn’t process the events that occurred that led them to this place, led by a man Chanyeol and Hyuk had thought to have died or disappeared, Jang Ino.

Ino was the son of Professor Inhwan Jang, the founder and director of the Center for Paranormal Research, or what people commonly knew it to be, the Ilsan Youth Hostel. He possessed god-like abilities, molecular and cellular manipulation, the ability to duplicate himself with varying personalities, telekinesis, telepathy, teleportation, and the ability to see everything that is happening in the present time. Ino served as the director at his father’s death at the hands of the goblins three years ago, and during that time, Chanyeol, Mirae, and even Hyuk, along with their other colleagues back then, thought of him as the big brother. 

The cafeteria was quiet, and the chairs were all situated in a way that they can simply take one of the dishes and drinks that were placed on boats in a line, like a sushi bar, except without the conveyor belt that held the boats together. They had traveled to Summerland through a black jet plane that Ino himself designed and built over the time that he hadn’t contacted them. It was also that time that Ino revealed he had found twelve more people who had realized that they were mutants and wanted to learn more about their powers. 

“Mirae’s been asleep this entire time” Jaehwan observed, taking a sip of coffee from the mug in front of him. 

“I know, and Ino hyung’s been so cryptic about who else was in this place” Chanyeol muttered, taking a plate of waffles from one boat and pouring a lot of maple syrup over it. “It’s giving me a feeling that there are others that we know that are here too” he said. 

“So, what is this place? It’s a school, right?” Jaehwan asked, and the two nodded. 

Hyuk looked around, and noticed one of the students, Kim Younghoon, sitting by the window and taking a plate that had a meatball sandwich on it from another boat. “It’s a school, so there are teachers” he said quietly, turning back to his coffee. “And the ones learning are very young, Jaehwan’s age” he glanced back at him. 

Kwon Hyuk was an aspiring singer and songwriter, and was signed to a small company where his best friend, Woo Jiho, worked in, as one of the company’s rappers, songwriters, and producers. He was a powerful telekinetic, and could move objects and people with his mind. With his telekinesis, he had also developed some telepathic skills, in which he still had some difficulty using, especially when it came to talking to people in that manner. His telepathy also granted him the ability to create forcefields strong enough to withstand projectiles from weapons, like bullets and even explosions. 

Kim Jaehwan was a newly signed singer in Hyuk’s company after graduating university a few days before. He possessed super strength, stamina, and enhanced senses, enabling him to see and hear things from a great distance as well as shock absorption and impenetrable skin, that seemed to only get stronger over time. He used these abilities to track people down, and sense who was coming. 

Park Chanyeol was a waiter at his parents’ restaurants which were next to each other. He was a pyrokinetic, who could create and manipulate all aspects of fire, even engulfing his whole body in flames when he reached his peak power levels. In turn, he could live as a fire being, and could withstand extreme heat. If he wanted to, he could reach the same temperature as the sun, making him incredibly powerful as well. 

“What do you think is in store for us here, then?” Chanyeol asked, taking big forkfuls of waffles into his mouth. 

Jaehwan and Hyuk shrugged, and instead stared at their coffees. The doors of the cafeteria opened, and Ino arrived. “Just the three people I want to see” he said, taking a seat next to Chanyeol. “So, how are you all feeling?” he asked. 

The three men shrugged. “Could be better, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this” Hyuk gestured to the whole place. 

“I understand. It’s not like the Center anymore, especially after what you discovered was in there,” Ino said quietly. “I also understand why the two of you must feel a little wary of me” he added. 

“Well, all this time, you were hiding instead of helping us take those Titans down, so yeah, I think we’ve reserved the right to feel a little wary of you, don’t you think?” Hyuk snapped. 

Ino just looked down. “I know, and I’m sorry for abandoning you when this happened, but you should know that I did try to help” 

Hyuk scoffed. “Only towards the end, when the three of us were nearly done trying to beat down those thugs, when Mirae had to deal with the trigger in her head. You could have tried to help us earlier on, but what did you do? Where were you? You were nowhere to be found, we didn’t know where you were, you never even bothered to let us know if you were alive or something” he hissed, keeping his voice low so as not to make a scene. 

“I know” Ino said. “But I am prepared to make it up to all of you, even you as we’ve never met before until now” he looked at Jaehwan. 

“No no, I think I’m cool” He waved a hand dismissively. 

“So what else are we here for?” Chanyeol asked, after finishing his food. “Aside from checking if Mirae is alright?” 

Ino cleared his throat. “I’d like to offer the three of you a teaching job” he replied flatly. 

“Teaching job? We already have jobs…” Chanyeol answered. 

“He wants us to teach the people here” Hyuk pointed out, and Ino nodded. “We’ll become the faculty.” 

“Back in the center, I realized that if we’re going to find more people who have superpowers, they should be taught by people who also have powers. I’d get Junhong and his team around again, but, it’s only Junhong left” Ino explained quietly. 

Hyuk’s expression soon changed. “Are we the only mutant teachers here? Or are the others that you’re thinking about right now also the ones included?” he asked. 

Chanyeol and Jaehwan raised a brow at him. “Geez, it’s so hard to talk with two telepaths in the room…” the fire-controller commented. 

Ino couldn’t help but chuckle, then cleared his throat. “Yes, they’re out getting groceries right now, but they’re also part of the faculty. The students are currently on a little study break.” he said. “So, what do the three of you think?” 

The three men exchanged looks. Jaehwan glanced at Ino. “I don’t think I can do it” he answered. “I really liked beating up those bad guys and everything, but teaching other people how to use their powers and how to control them isn’t something I’m ready for. I’d feel quite homesick-” 

“You can go home after every class” Ino noted. 

Jaehwan nodded. “This...is just a step, I never thought I’d take, that’s all. I guess what I’m saying is that I need some time to think this over, consider everything first before I make a decision. I’m sorry” 

Ino nodded, then looked back at Chanyeol and Hyuk. “What about the two of you?” he asked. 

“I’ll try and decide once you tell us what will happen to Mirae here” Hyuk pointed out. “Once she’s well enough, will you give her the same offer as you gave us? What about Jihoon? He’s like a brother to her, will he be allowed to stay here too?” he asked. 

“Yes, to all those questions.” Ino nodded. “I’ll even take him to his university when it starts” he added. 

At Ino’s answer, it made Hyuk think of his own circumstances. Was he willing to delay his music career to teach other superpowered people like him? Or could he try and do both? Chanyeol thought the same thing. His family was incredibly supportive of his decision, and he knew they would be happy if he decided to go down this path. “Okay, I’m in.” Chanyeol suddenly said. 

Without thinking further, Hyuk had agreed as well. “Alright” Ino nodded. “I’ll get the jet ready so you can go home and we can pick Jihoon up” he stood up. “Welcome to the faculty. Someone will come to give you some clothes and whatever else you might need while you’re here. We’ll go over the rest of the details again later” he said. 

Hyuk and Chanyeol stood up. “I guess this is it, huh?” Jaehwan turned to them, standing up as well. “For now, at least.” 

“Take all the time you need. You might just need a break, a real one.” Chanyeol said, patting him on the shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot in a span of a few weeks, kid” 

“Yeah, I might just. I’d want to see Mirae before I leave” Jaehwan nodded. 

“Things just sort of fizzled with her, huh?” Hyuk asked. 

Jaehwan didn’t need to ask how he knew that, and instead, nodded. “Yeah. It’s clear this wasn’t going to be something important right now, and we’re better off friends anyway” he said. Hyuk patted him on the shoulder as well and Jaehwan waved at them one more time before following Ino out of the cafeteria. 

~ 

Ji Changmin peeked through the window where the girl lay. He remembered that day he first saw her. He was peeking from the corner in one classroom at the university. He saw that she was being held at gunpoint, surrounded by thugs in black that were holding her and the two others with her who were also at Summerland. He heard what was going on, and what they were talking about, and when the gun was fired, he managed to stop the bullet from entering her head in time, even going as far as making it pass through the shooter instead. It was the moment he really felt like he could do something with his powers. 

He possessed the ability to control metal, and create magnetic fields. If he had something metal on his shoes, he could even bring himself to fly, and, from what he managed to do at the university, he could even curve bullets and keep them from entering a person. His gift was a very useful, and very deadly. 

Changmin watched her lay still in the bed, wondering if she was going to wake up anytime soon. He heard about what Sangyeon did to her, what had to be done for the condition she was in. He originally thought that the university was the last he’ll see of her, but he was pleasantly surprised to see her again, and knowing that she could become one of their mentors soon made seeing her even better. He felt like he could learn a lot from her and her experiences. 

“What are you looking at?” His “classmate,” Lee Jaehyun, but more fondly known by everyone as Hyunjae, suddenly appeared. Jaehyun possessed the ability to deliver optic blasts, with powerful beams of energy from his eyes. However, as he had difficulty controlling the strength and when to deliver these blasts, he always had to wear special sunglasses that could help contain the beams he could emit. 

“The girl I saved. Sangyeon hyung told me her name is Lee Mirae” Changmin said quietly. 

Jaehyun peeked into the room and nodded. “Oh yeah, she’s the one you saved at the university, right?” He held up a hand for a high five, which Changmin hit. 

“Yeah, I can’t believe it. She’s here, she’s really here” Changmin stepped inside, but Jaehyun held him back. “What?” 

“I don’t know. It feels like we’re intruding” Jaehyun shrugged. “What if she wakes up? She might freak out or something” 

“Sangyeon hyung said she’d wake up any day now, though” The metal bender pointed out. “Ino hyung says it’s okay to visit her too. Younghoon hyung’s been doing that ever since she was brought here” 

Jaehyun paused. He knew what Changmin meant. “Oh alright, I guess we can go inside” he let go of his arm and stepped inside with him. 

The room was just like their own bedrooms, with a desk and a chair,a bookshelf, a small sofa set and a tv along with carpets and rugs. The room had a view of the forest that surrounded Summerland. Changmin and Jaehyun walked further inside to where she lay, seating themselves down on the ottomans by the couch. “Oh, I see you two are the ones visiting her today, huh?” Ino suddenly appeared, followed by a man Changmin knew was at the university. 

“Y-yeah,” Changmin and Jaehyun stood up right away, keeping their voices low as not to wake her. “She’s the one I told you about, the one at the university?” Changmin added. 

Ino nodded. “Oh yeah, well, speaking of what happened. I’d like to introduce both of you to Kim Jaehwan, one of Mirae’s colleagues. He’ll be heading home, but we’ll be picking up her brother. The others will be back from the grocery anytime soon,” he assured them. “Jaehwan here’s really good at hearing and seeing things miles away, right?” he asked, and Jaehwan nodded. 

“I’m also quite bulletproof” Jaehwan added, in an attempt to impress them. 

“You have two new mentors, they’ll be introduced to you once everyone’s here” Ino explained to the two, and gestured for Jaehwan to go ahead and say goodbye to the sleeping girl on the bed. He turned back to Jaehyun and Changmin. “She hasn’t moved, has she?” he asked, and they shook their heads. “Any day now, she’ll be up and ready. I don’t know what Sangyeon did to make her fall this deep asleep, but I’m guessing it was necessary to get that trigger out of her head.” 

“Ino hyung, I have a question” Jaehyun raised his hand a little. “When do we get to try out the Danger Room?” he asked. “Chanhee’s been asking about it for a while now” he explained. 

Ino smiled. “When she’s up. You’ll all be under her mentorship for the tactical tests. Of course, given that you’ve passed your other mentors, hmm?” he replied, turning around once Jaehwan came back. “We’ll be back soon. If ever she wakes while we’re away, just be careful” he advised, waving at them before walking out of the room with Jaehwan. 

“I wonder when that’ll be” Changmin frowned slightly. 

~ 

Lee Mirae’s eyes started to flutter open. The last thing she remembered was kneeling on the ground, outside the building that held the memorial for the victims of the incident. Seeing Junhong, Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Jaehwan was the last thing she remembered. But then, she also remembered someone entering her head, someone who wasn’t the four of them, find his way into her subconscious and get rid of something, only she didn’t know what it was, and he did. 

She slowly sat up and that was when it hit her that she was somewhere else. She was covered in blankets, and she certainly wasn’t wearing her own clothes, but a nightgown. Her own clothes and shoes were neatly folded and placed on the chair next to the bed. Mirae wiggled her feet to get rid of the numbness for a moment, then stood up. A sudden sense of worry overcame her. Where was Jihoon? Where was she? Where were Hyuk? Chanyeol? What about Jaehwan? What happened to them? To her? How long was she like this?

She looked out the window. Trees, all trees, and no clear roads, and it was already getting dark. Mirae was starting to feel a lot more anxious. It took her back to her days in the sanitarium, of being knocked out from all the electroshock therapy sessions she was subject to. “Where am I?” she whispered to herself, and hurriedly reached for her clothes to change, quietly coming up with a plan to escape. Who knew what she was in there for? Was there even going to be a recognizable face in this place? 

“Oh you’re awake” Chanyeol suddenly appeared, and Mirae went up to him at once, shaking his arms. 

“Chanyeol, what is this place? How long have we been in here? Where’s Hyuk? Jaehwan? Jihoon? Where are they?” Mirae sounded frazzled. 

Chanyeol patted her shoulders and hugged her. “It’s okay, it’s okay, we’re here. This place is for us, for people like us” he assured her quickly, keeping her close in case she tried to fight him. “It’s okay, Mirae. You’ll find that you’ll like this place, I’m staying here too, so is Hyuk” he said. 

“What about Jaehwan? Where is he? Is he doing okay? I’m sure he is, but where is he?” Mirae asked. 

Chanyeol leaned back to look at her. “Jaehwan’s okay, but he’s not staying. He just left a few hours ago, he said goodbye to you though, but you were out” he explained. Mirae frowned slightly. “Jihoon’s being picked up. He’ll be staying here with you if he wants” he said. 

“But why isn’t Jaehwan staying?” Mirae asked. 

“Because he needed time to think about the teaching job we’ve been given here” Hyuk had appeared at the threshold, and Chanyeol let go of Mirae for him to hug her. “I’m glad you’re okay” he said. 

“Teaching job?” Mirae asked. 

“Yeah, you are looking at two of the newest teachers here in Summerland” Hyuk answered, glancing at Chanyeol. “If you’re up for the job too, then that makes three of us” he added. 

Mirae felt even more confused. Their answers only brought on more questions, and Hyuk figured it out from the expression on her face as he knew he could no longer be able to read her mind again. “Teach? Me? Chanyeol said this was a place for people like us” she said. 

“It is a place for people like us, it’s like the Center again, only we’re mutant mentors” Chanyeol nodded. “There are some people who are waiting to meet you, Mirae. Some of them you would be glad to see again” he added. 

“I already told them to come here” Hyuk smiled. 

Mirae pulled away and nodded, feeling a little comforted knowing that Chanyeol and Hyuk were here. The door opened again, and in came the bright and smiling faces of her old colleagues; Oh Sehun, who could create and manipulate all aspects of wind and who could even bring himself to fly and take out the oxygen of a living thing, Kim Junmyeon, who could create and manipulate all aspects of water and who could control a person’s movements by manipulating their blood, Kim Jongdae, who created and manipulated lightning and thunder, Nam Hyejung, who could create portals and displace objects and people through it, and Song Jinri, who was gifted with the ability to create plasma blasts and bombs. “You didn’t think we’d go away, hmm?” Junmyeon grinned, hugging her tightly. 

Mirae hugged each and every one of them, feeling even more relieved and happy as ever to see them. “You know, you didn’t really kill us when that blast happened last year” Jinri affirmed. “Although most of them just preferred going home when Ino oppa found us again” she added. 

“Ino” She gaped at them. “He’s alive? He’s here?” she asked, and they nodded. 

“He’s been extra nice when it came to the three of you,” Jongdae replied. He suddenly frowned slightly, and so did the rest of them. “We’re sorry we didn’t help you out or contact you with what happened a few weeks ago. I understand you might feel upset about that” 

“Well,” Mirae realized she needed to process everything before saying something. “I guess I understand why you didn’t too, it helps lessen the guilt for leveling the Center, which we had to do again and for good” she said. 

“We’ve already scolded them for you, Mirae, don’t worry, nearly a half hour’s worth” Chanyeol assured her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Come on, time for Ino hyung to see you all well” 

“Oh, and you are probably going to find the students cute” Hyejung pointed out to her with a grin. “Seriously, some, no, all of them are so cute” 

“Cuter than us?” Junmyeon pretended to be offended as they all left the room. 

“Well, it’s true though. Juyeon’s really handsome, Younghoon too but he’s incredibly shy, which is understandable,” Jinri noted. “Jaehyun’s quite a handful for someone who’s supposedly part of the older ones” she added. 

“Wait a minute, are we teaching kids?” Mirae asked. “You all make it sound like we’re mentoring elementary school kids” 

Hyejung and Jinri exchanged looks and grinned. “No, they are far beyond that grade. Three of them are still in high school though, so we have the duty of bringing them there.” Hyejung replied. 

They continued filling her in with what happened to them since the attack. They led her into what looked like a study, where Ino was, waiting for them. “Mirae is now awake” he smiled that familiar, warm, smile she remembered.He went up to her and gave her a hug. “I thought you wouldn’t wake up for another few days, it’s nearly a week since you got knocked out” he said. 

“Yeah, I guess so” Mirae figured that with everything they were telling her earlier, she may as well have been knocked out for a month or two. “So, can you please explain why I’m here, what’s going on, what’s happening? Hyuk and Chanyeol said you have a job offer for me” she said. 

Ino nodded. “Well, yeah, I do. A teaching job, to be exact. I know you have the store to look after, and Jihoon to raise, and speaking of Jihoon, he’s having dinner in the cafeteria” he explained, and Mirae let out a sigh of relief. “Anyway, after the events at the Center, and what happened a few weeks ago, it further prompted me to find more people like us, and help them understand their powers and how to use them for the benefit of everyone,” he began to explain, gesturing to the chairs for them to sit. 

“We did find more people like us, twelve more people, all boys, but I can’t say I mind” Hyejung suddenly cut in with a grin, so did Jinri. “After what happened with Himchan oppa I’m just-” she sighed. 

“Anyway, this place is called Summerland. We’re up in the mountains, and it’s a lot smaller than the Center, but it’s just as fancy looking as you probably noticed” Jinri said. “Ino oppa built this place” 

“Why’s it called Summerland?” Mirae asked. 

“It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Hyejung smiled. 

“Well, I needed to call it something different. The Center has always flourished under secrecy, and from the stories that some of these newbies have told us, this will also function as a sanctuary where you can use your powers” Ino explained. 

Mirae understood. “So, where are they? The ones we’ll be teaching?” she asked. 

“So, you’re agreeing?” Junmyeon and Sehun’s eyes lit up. 

“Yeah, I mean, I still have to figure out what happens to the store, who’s going to run it while I’m here. You did say I can go home after teaching, right?” she glanced back at Ino, who nodded. “Okay.” 

Ino beamed. “Oh good, and they’ll be here right, about,” He went to one side of the room. “Now” 

There was a flash of light in the room and a huge metal disc appeared in front of all of them. It suddenly lowered itself, and the heads of twelve young men started to pop out, then their bodies, and then their legs and feet until the disc disappeared when one of them snapped their fingers. “We’re all here” the one who snapped his fingers said to Ino, and the twelve of them spread out in a line. 

“Wow, it reminds me of you guys” Mirae looked at Junmyeon, who chuckled. 

The boys seemed to look surprised at the sight of her, one of them in particular, couldn’t help but smile, and when Mirae looked at him, she looked at him in familiarity. “I’m Sangyeon, Lee Sangyeon” He raised a hand. 

“You look familiar. I think I dreamt of you, or was it just a dream?” Mirae raised a brow at him, then nodded. “It’s nice to meet you” and Sangyeon smiled shyly.

“Sangyeon’s a telepath too, but he can do more with it then I can,” Hyuk whispered in her ear. “He was the one who got rid of the trigger, that’s probably why you think you dreamt of him” he added, and Mirae nodded again. “He’s also the one who helped Junhong get Jihoon and Jiho out” 

They turned back to the rest of the boys, two of which had blue skin, while one had a large pair of white wings protruding from his back. “I’m Jacob. Jacob Bae,” the one with the wings suddenly said. “It’s really nice to see you awake” he added, making the rest of them chuckle. 

“I’m Kevin, Kevin Moon” the one with dark hair and blue skin who was next to Jacob raised his hand. “I know, I’m blue” he quickly pointed out, making them laugh. 

“I’m Hyunjoon. Heo Hyunjoon, but everyone here calls me Hwall” said the one who snapped his fingers, who had intense looking eyes and a long earring. 

“I’m Lee Jaehyun, but you can call me Hyunjae” the one wearing red-tinted sunglasses raised his hand. 

“I’m Lee Juyeon” said the other handsome guy next to Jaehyun. “It’s very nice to see you awake” he added, and everyone laughed again.  
“I’m Younghoon. Kim Younghoon” said the tallest one in the group, who seemed to be all covered up and raised a gloved hand. 

“I’m Changmin, Ji Changmin, but you can call me Q if you like” the shorter one next to Younghoon said with a big smile on his face. Mirae could hear Jinri and Hyejung swoon a little when his dimple appeared. 

Her eyes widened a little when she saw another person that looked exactly like Changmin standing next to him. “Oh, you’re a twin?” she looked at him. 

Changmin glanced to where she was looking and nudged his lookalike. “Chanhee,” he said, and in a matter of seconds, the lookalike suddenly turned into a boy who also had blue skin, but had blonde hair and icy blue eyes. 

“I’m Choi Chanhee” he chuckled. “I’m a shapeshifter” 

Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol all looked impressed. “That’s a dangerous gift” Hyuk suddenly said. “You can copy a person’s voice too” he commented, in awe. 

“I’m Kim Sunwoo” the one next to Chanhee raised his hand. 

“I’m Eric Sohn, nice to meet you” the one with blue hair and holding a baseball glove raised his hand. 

“I’m Ju Haknyeon” the one at the very end of the line raised his hand as well. 

“I’m Kwon Hyuk, this is Lee Mirae, and Park Chanyeol,” Hyuk introduced them, and they bowed. “We’re the new teachers here, I guess” he glanced at the two of them, and they nodded. 

Ino was beaming where he stood. “You can save your questions for tomorrow. As I promised, you will be using the Danger Room as well tomorrow” he announced, and the twelve of them all looked at Mirae in excitement. 

“The Danger Room?” Mirae turned to Hyuk and Chanyeol. 

“It’s like our communal training room in the Center, only Ino’s made sure it doesn’t get turned into a vortex manipulator” Junmyeon muttered. 

“But why are they suddenly looking at me?” Mirae muttered back. 

“You’re in charge of helping them in the Danger Room” Hyuk said. 

“Great, more fighting” Mirae sighed a little, and sat back. 

~ 

Jacob was outside that night, swooping up and down above the building. There was this uneasy feeling brewing inside him. He had been feeling that way for some time already. It seemed like more bad things started happening since the big attack, and the incident a few weeks ago was another thing. It must have been the bout of homesickness he was feeling. He had to leave his home in Toronto, Canada for a reason. He wanted to understand why he was born the way he was, he wanted answers as to why he could do what he could do at that moment and Summerland seemed to be giving him that. 

His wings were always there, ever since he was born, growing along with him until he fully reached adulthood. He tried covering it up when he went to school, but not even his clothes could help hide the fact that he could take to the air at nights and fly. Jacob had even contemplated cutting it off, but he decided not to go through with it as it was a painful process. It would feel like he was stripping the skin on his back inch by inch and it wasn’t something he was up for. 

However, flying at night helped him in some ways, and he discovered he could do much more. Jacob could see from far away, and he easily conquered his initial fear of heights whenever he took to the air. His quiet and kind personality also had everyone, including their mentors, call him an angel, for to them, he almost literally embodied the description. 

It must have also been the fact that they were going to use the Danger Room the next day. It made Jacob wonder what he can do. He can fly, what else is there? Sangyeon was a telepath, Kevin was incredibly smart, Changmin could literally pull anything metal apart or turn it into a weapon if he wanted to, Chanhee could turn into anyone, Hyunjoon could even teleport anywhere, at any time, but what about him? What use was there in his flying? In his wings?

He perched himself on the roof, being careful not to take a false step and sat down. Jacob closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the wind and the calm around him. It would make him feel better at times like these. 

Jacob could hear the sounds of swords swishing, thuds to the ground and groans coming from one part of the place. He could hear Kevin pressing buttons in the lab that Ino built for him, where he would be working with another one of their mentors’ colleagues, Junhong. He could hear the sounds of metal and a magnet, figuring that Changmin may have been practicing in his room. 

After a moment, he swooped down and landed on the terrace that led to the floor where half their bedrooms were. He saw Sangyeon dozing off in one of the couches while Eric sped past him back and forth as he played a game of table tennis on his own. Eric possessed super speed, and with this speed came enhanced strength. According to Ino, if Eric was fast enough, he could even go backwards or forwards in time, but he maintained that this was as fast as he could go. 

“Who’s winning?” He asked, watching Eric go from one side to another during the game. 

“I am” Eric replied without looking. 

Jacob shook his head and blinked. He was getting dizzy just watching Eric play by himself. He pressed on, heading towards the door at the end of the hall which was his room. Even though he wasn’t ready to turn in just yet, he found himself going back to his room anyway. He figured that should change for now, and he turned around and walked back, towards the elevator to go down. 

Meanwhile, Younghoon stepped inside the cafeteria. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Mirae, talking to who he figured they said was Park Jihoon, her adoptive brother. They seemed really close, he thought, as he sat down and grabbed the sushi platter from one boat. He couldn’t approach her just yet. He didn’t know how to say hi even though they were going to get to know each other as time went on. 

He didn’t want to seem like a stalker, and what she didn’t know was, he liked her since the first time he saw her. His colleagues knew it, that he liked her a lot, even though she didn’t know it yet, even though there wasn’t a clear reason why. What everyone else didn’t know was, he would stay with her at nights whenever he couldn’t sleep. He would find himself telling her stories, things he was thinking about, even the most random of things.

Was it possible to fall in love with someone who had been asleep since the day they met? He thought, eating a whole piece of sushi. 

He saw Jacob come inside, and upon spotting him, he sat down across from him, and grabbed the nearest plate of food that came his way. “Now that she’s awake, what are you planning to do?” he suddenly asked. 

Younghoon shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to tell her how I feel” he replied, mixing soy sauce and wasabi in a smaller platter. “Yet, at least.” 

Jacob started cutting into his steak. “That’s true, plus she’s been through a lot. It might not be something she’s up for right now” he said, and he nodded. “Plus I heard she was dating the guy who left, Jaehwan” 

“Sangyeon hyung told me they weren’t dating anymore. He heard his thoughts.” Younghoon pointed out. 

Jacob nodded. “I can only tell you to take it real slow. A girl like her can be tough to get through to” he advised. 

They saw Mirae and Jihoon get up, and as they turned to leave, Mirae caught Younghoon’s eye, and she quickly looked away, leaving the cafeteria followed by her brother. He looked back at his half-finished platter. “You’re right.” 

~ 

Jihoon sat on the other bed in their room. “So, what do you think of this place? Feel like staying here?” Mirae asked him, tucking her feet under her legs as she sat down on her bed. “Ino oppa did offer to drop you off when university starts” she added. 

It made him look up in thought. “It’s a nice place. Peaceful, and quiet, and the food is cool too” he nodded. “Wherever you decide to be, I’ll stay with you too.” he finished. 

Mirae smiled, then looked down. “I don’t know. I like our life back in the city, it just feels very different here. I mean, the Center was also in the city, this is...out of the city” she said. “Plus, there’s the store to think about. I can’t just hand everything over to Youngho to be here” she added. 

“Then we’ll do what you said earlier. We won’t stay here unless we need to” Jihoon agreed. “I think we’ll do just that for tonight, then we’ll be back home in the morning” he said. 

Mirae stood up and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Alright. I think there are some pajamas for you somewhere here in this room. Why don’t you get ready for bed?” she said, ruffling his hair some more and laughing until he pushed her hand away.

As Jihoon got out of bed, the ground suddenly shook. The two of them stood still, looking up in case something would fall through. Another intense shake followed, making them fall back on their beds. “What’s going on?” he asked, as the two of them got back on their feet. 

“I don’t know, but we should find out pretty soon, come with me. I don’t want to leave you alone here” Mirae rushed out of the room and into the hall, where everyone else was, looking just as confused and concerned as ever. 

Ino suddenly appeared, already wearing pajamas underneath a robe. “Kevin? Where’s Kevin?” he looked around. 

“I’m here!” Kevin stepped out from the elevator, looking frazzled and in his pajamas. “The epicenter of the tremors was actually… in here” he said. “Sangyeon hyung may be dreaming again or something…” he said. 

Hyuk nodded. “Yes, he is. Does he have intense dreams often?” He asked him. 

“Sometimes. But lately, he’s been having more of these kinds of dreams” Kevin explained. 

“Okay, why don’t the rest of you go back to your rooms, I can take care of this. Maybe bring him down to the lab?” he suggested, and they agreed. 

“Juyeon, Younghoon, both of you, try and go in Sangyeon’s room” Jinri said, and the two boys nodded. “Eric, Hyunjoon, Sunwoo, the three of you go back to bed” she added, looking at the three youngest ones. 

“Ain’t this a familiar situation” Chanyeol commented, as Hyejung created a portal for Younghoon, Juyeon, Ino, and Hyuk to go inside. They saw Sangyeon on the other side, tossing and turning, groaning and breaking into a cold sweat. “Okay, that is definitely a familiar situation, at least he doesn’t have things breaking and spinning around the room” 

The oil paintings were starting to corrode, and the photos that were hung on the walls fell off. Sangyeon’s bed was starting to shake. “Too soon” Sehun said, watching the four step inside the portal until it closed. 

~ 

Ino, Hyuk, Juyeon, and Younghoon were inside Sangyeon’s room. The telepath didn’t wake. “Great” Hyuk muttered, trying to shield himself from the objects that were flying about. As he approached Sangyeon’s bed, he felt a sharp pain in his head. 

More objects started to fly around and Younghoon couldn’t take a step closer. Juyeon on the other hand, inched closer, and Hyuk saw that bit by bit in a matter of seconds, his whole body, except his clothes, were turning into metal that wasn’t dented by the objects that hit him. 

“Sangyeon!” Ino yelled, but he wouldn’t wake. “Sangyeon! Wake up!” 

Hyuk shut his eyes tight, as he could suddenly see what Sangyeon was dreaming about. A huge, white blob of a man, with long, skinny fingers and legs, was glaring at him. It had glowing yellow eyes, and was letting out a laugh that sent shivers down his spine, as if victorious.

“World breaker. God killer” said the blob in a very cold voice. “World breaker. God killer” the blob repeated. 

“Sangyeon!!!” he shouted, as Juyeon picked him up from the bed. The telepath was shivering and tossing and turning. 

“Sangyeon! Wake up now!” Ino tried to get through to him telepathically instead, but nothing worked. He teleported them down to the lab, where Kevin was waiting, next to a chair where they strapped Sangyeon in. 

“I’ll try and get through to him” Younghoon removed one of his gloves and pressed his hand on Sangyeon’s forehead. 

The older boy’s eyes shot open, and he felt his life was starting to drain away from him for a moment and he started shivering and gasping. However, the contact was broken as Younghoon found himself seeing what he saw, and he backed away, shaken by the mental image. Juyeon turned back to his normal form, but his pajamas had little rips here and there. 

“What the hell, hyung!” Younghoon stared at him. 

Sangyeon was panting. “I-It was a dream, but it felt so real. Like there’s a dark power somewhere, and it’s growing, growing in power” he ran a hand through his hair. 

“It’s the fourth time this has happened” Ino commented. “Younghoon had to touch you to wake you up” 

“I-I know, but I don’t know why these dreams keep appearing, it just does” Sangyeon sighed. 

Ino turned to Hyuk. “Using the Danger Room is now even more important than ever. Get Mirae ready” he instructed. He turned to Kevin. “Do some digging, see if other parts of the country and the world were affected. If it’s just us, it’s okay, but if it’s the whole world, then there may be some truth in what Sangyeon’s seeing.” 

Kevin went ahead to the desk facing several monitors. Sangyeon sat up. He didn’t want to fall asleep. Hyuk went up to Kevin and Ino, while Juyeon and Younghoon stood to the side, keeping an eye on Sangyeon. “Something really isn’t right” he said quietly. 

“I know. I think we need to be extra careful with Sangyeon hyung” Kevin nodded as well. 

“Leave the guarding to me. He doesn’t know nor should he know just yet.” Ino assured them. “We should find some other answers first.” 

Hyuk let out a small sigh. “Just like old times.”


	2. Two

The tremors stopped the next day, however, from the news, it seemed that the epicenter was somewhere else. Jihoon and Mirae joined Hyuk and Chanyeol in one of the booth seats for breakfast at the cafeteria, as the four of them had woken up early, including Kevin, who looked especially excited when he came in and saw them. “What are your plans today?” Hyuk asked them. 

“We’ll go for a round in the Danger Room, then Jihoon and I will be heading home” Mirae answered, cutting into her pancakes. 

“You won’t be staying here, then?” Chanyeol asked. 

They shook their heads. “Ever since what happened with my adoptive parents, that makes me the sole owner, so there’s more work to do. I even have to hire a bookkeeper for everything” Mirae answered. 

The two men nodded. “Well, yeah, we have stuff to do outside this place, and good thing Ino hyung’s agreed that we don’t need to stay here when we teach, right?” Chanyeol agreed, so did Hyuk. “We can still live the lives we’ve come back to since that attack, and even throughout the whole thing with the Utopians” he added. 

“This place is nice, though, but it’s just a long way off from the city, huh?” Hyuk looked around, and they hummed in response as they focused on their food. 

“I don’t know why I was put in charge of the Danger Room, though. Everyone else is just as capable, especially Ino oppa” Mirae muttered. 

That made Chanyeol and Hyuk smile, even Jihoon, whose mouth was full of rice and soup. “Who else among us, at least those of us who have been working with Ino hyung for years and are in here, can take a punch or a gunshot or can kick someone’s ass with or without powers?” Hyuk asked, grinning and teasing. 

Mirae gave him a look. “Those muscles of yours are useless if you don’t know how to throw a punch or something” she glanced at Chanyeol. She turned back to Hyuk. “Your powers are pretty much the advantage that you need in a fight, most of the time. You get to leave tired, but not feel like you’ve been beaten up” 

“The way I see it. You’re more than capable of holding your own ground, with or without powers. You’ve been through rough times,” Hyuk coaxed. “Plus, and this is the most important bit, no telepath can get into your head. I can’t read your mind, Ino hyung couldn’t, and not even Sangyeon” he pointed out. 

“That’s true, though,” Kevin suddenly spoke, having overheard their conversation, bringing his plate to the table next to theirs. “According to Junhong hyung, because your power also gives you an ability to generate static, you effectively shield your mind from telepathic intrusion,” he explained. “So if Hyuk hyung tries to read your mind, it’s like he’ll be met by a wall. Plus, the static also allows you to destabilize any touch-based ability” 

“Destabilize?” Mirae asked. 

Kevin put his spoon down. “Yeah, destabilize. Like if I had the ability to spread poison just by touching, you neutralize my power if you touch me, so it doesn’t work on you” he explained. 

“Oh, I see. Good to know” she nodded. 

Jihoon stared at him and swallowed. Mirae patted his arm, and he snapped out of his stare. “At this point, I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore” he said to himself, finishing his food. “I’ll be in the room, freshening up and watching tv if you need me” he got up and left the room. 

Kevin on the other hand, took it upon himself to take Jihoon’s place next to Mirae. “So, has anyone entered the Danger Room yet, among you?” Hyuk changed the subject. 

“Oh no, not yet. Junhong was still trying to fix it up for a long time. They said he’s been building some stuff and taking some preventive measures” Kevin answered, eating another big mouthful of scrambled eggs. “Because the communal training room you guys once had was turned into-” 

“A vortex manipulator” The three of them finished. 

“Yeah. It must have been so exciting training with you guys, and I’m especially excited with what’s going to happen later!” The blue boy slightly wiggled in his seat in excitement, making them chuckle and turn back to their food. 

“Well, Kevin’s excitement is starting to get me curious. I know what to do to ease them into training in the Danger Room” Mirae took a sip of coffee. “If I’m going to be in charge of something, I may as well check out what I’m in charge of” she added. 

“Good luck, teach” Chanyeol grinned. “Wait a minute, what happened last night? Is Sangyeon okay now?” he suddenly remembered. 

Kevin stared at them for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, he’s fine, for now” he said quietly. “We can only hope he doesn’t have another dream like that, but we can never really be sure” his expression was suddenly serious. 

Just then, Junhong appeared, stepping inside the cafeteria and immediately making a beeline for their table. He looked a little out of breath, but he seemed to be proud. “Good morning everyone, ah, Mirae, Sangyeon told me you finally woke up last night” he said. “How are you feeling?” he said. 

“Fine?” Mirae shrugged. “I do feel a lot better, lighter almost” she answered. 

“Oh good. Well, whenever you’re ready, I want you to come with me, check out the Danger Room before you show them the ropes” Junhong grinned. 

“Oh, you’re finished with the setup?” Kevin suddenly asked. 

“Yes, I am, and I want Mirae to take it for a test drive before any of you use it” Junhong nodded. “And, there’s also another reason why I want Mirae to use it first,” He reached into the pocket of his lab coat and took out a thick, steel rod-like object as long as a flashlight. “Here” 

Mirae caught the object and examined it. There was a button where her thumb was. “Okay, what’s this?” she asked. 

Junhong grinned. “You should get up and see for yourself. Press the button” he said. 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Kevin stopped eating to watch her get up from her seat and stand a few feet away, in the more open part of the cafeteria. She pressed the button, and it instantly turned into a staff. “Whoa” Mirae gaped at what she was holding, gently poking the floor with one end. “You made me a new one?” she said to him. 

“Yeah. Your, um, adoptive parents were right on your staff being melted inside a furnace. But, this one is especially better, because,” Junhong went up to her and showed her the small sliding panel on the other side of the handle. “Interchangeable tips,” he pressed the blue button, and both ends of the staff suddenly had sharp points. Junhong pressed the green button to go back to its original ends. “It’s also made out of a space-age alloy, so it’s not made out of metal. Cool, huh?” he added. “You can also take it apart, like this” He took the staff, and twisted the part underneath the panel. The two ends came apart. “See? Perfect for dual combat” Junhong put the ends back together again and handed it back to Mirae. 

“Wow” Kevin looked at the staff in awe, and even more when Mirae closed the panel and retracted the staff by pressing the button again. “Can I have one like that too?” he asked. 

Junhong just chuckled. “If you’re done with breakfast, you can come with me” he said to her. 

“I will be in a bit. Can’t Chanyeol and Hyuk join in, though?” Mirae asked, and Junhong nodded. “Well, I’ve figured it out. They will use the Danger Room on the weekdays, we’ll just use it on the weekends or at nights” she declared. Chanyeol and Hyuk gave a thumbs up. 

~ 

“I am so excited, I may vomit” Eric was speeding in all directions in the living area. “I’m so excited for the Danger Room, can you guys believe it? We’re finally going to use the Danger Room!” he repeated. Everyone was gathered in the living room under Ino’s instructions. 

“For a guy that’s fast as you, you have a problem with taking it slow” Sunwoo said, sitting back on the couch. He possessed the ability to phase through objects and walk through anything or anyone. He had discovered this while playing soccer, as he was unable to dodge a ball that was kicked in his direction, and the ball ended up going through him instead. 

“I’m just so excited! We’re finally going to use the Danger Room!” Eric stopped in front of them. 

“You’re excited, but I’m nervous. I mean, what if something tries to attack us!” Sunwoo asked, a hint of panic in his voice. 

“That’s the point of the Danger Room,” Haknyeon explained. “It’s already the name of the room. Danger Room” he pointed out. Sunwoo sighed and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. Ju Haknyeon had the ability to create pyrotechnic blasts from his hands, his powers manifesting a few years back when he accidentally broke his family’s DVD player. 

“I’m pretty nervous about it too” Younghoon said, looking down at his own gloved hands. “I mean, come on, all of you have useful powers, mine are hardly useful in a dangerous situation” he frowned, but was met by nudges and gentle pushes from the others. 

“I doubt Mirae would think so, when she sees what you can do” Changmin teased, playing with a coin. He was trying to make it zig zag through his fingers and was successful, with Hyunjoon watching in amusement. 

Hyunjoon possessed the ability to teleport anywhere, even through space and time with the use of stepping disks. He also possessed the ability to manipulate magic. “It’s your time to shine~” he added, making the rest of them grin and Younghoon blush. 

“What do you think we’ll be dealing with in there?” Juyeon asked curiously, while flipping through the pages of the book he was reading. “Would it be the same as what we dealt with...last night?” he glanced at Younghoon, who shrugged but still looked uneasy. Lee Juyeon possessed the ability to turn his body into indestructible metal. 

“Whatever it might be, I hope we get to kick ass and take names” Jaehyun grinned, looking up at the ceiling. 

Mirae had appeared, followed by Jihoon, Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Junhong, and the twelve boys stood up and bowed to them. A portal soon appeared in the middle of the room, and Hyejung stepped out, and the boys bowed to them as well. “Junmyeon’s at his father’s company, but Jinri, Sehun, and Jongdae will be here” she said. 

When the remaining three arrived, everyone stood still. “So, ready to face the Danger Room?” Jinri asked them, and they all excitedly agreed. “Follow us please” she gestured towards the hallway from where she came from, and they started walking, Mirae making sure to stay at the very back as the rest of her colleagues seemed to have spread out. 

“Hello” Younghoon smiled at her, and she smiled back. He took this as an opportunity to slow down his steps to match with her.

“Hi” Mirae said. “You must be excited to try out the Danger Room” 

Younghoon shook his head. “I’m honestly nervous about it. I keep thinking what if I get killed. Is it possible to get killed in that kind of room?” 

Mirae shrugged. “I don’t know, but I guess we’ll all find that out later” she gave him an assuring smile. Younghoon looked even more nervous, but she chuckled. “I’m joking, it’s a training simulation, no one’s getting killed in there. I hope” she muttered. 

They stopped in front of a giant metal door. “Alright, this is the entrance to the Danger Room” Jinri said. This was the cue for Mirae to step forward, and Sehun playfully wrapped an arm around her. 

“Okay, now I know you’re all excited to try this room out, and you will be able to, I promise,” Mirae said to them. “There will be times or there will come a time, at least for us it did come more than once,” she eyed her colleagues. “That your abilities will be put to use, where you will be forced to use them whether you like it or not, but I’m sure most, if not all of you, are happy to do so,” she cleared her throat, eyeing Younghoon. “So, this Danger Room will serve as a practice room for you, to test your powers to defend yourselves against what might be thrown your way” 

Jongdae opened a red box next to the door, which revealed a big, yellow button. He pressed the button and the door suddenly went up, revealing a huge room, full of glass panels and a giant computer hanging from the ceiling. There was a huge control booth next to the computers, where they saw Junhong, who was waving at them. “Come in, come inside” he said, leading the way this time while the boys all looked at the room in awe. 

There was a small panel next to the door, that also had a button to open the door, as well as toggles that would match up to the easy, intermediate, and hard levels next to it and another toggle that matched to the labels that read post-apocalyptic, desert encounter, island ambush, city chaos, and no man’s land. “Wow” The boys all marveled at the panel. 

“These modes are extreme” Chanyeol muttered, looking closely at the toggles. 

“There will be more modes added to the panels,” Junhong’s voice was suddenly heard throughout the room, making them look up at him. “There will be modes customized for each of your mentors, and then these presets are for all of you” he added. “Mirae, are you ready?” he asked. 

Mirae nodded, then turned back to the boys. “Okay, this is now the beginning of your training. As there are a lot of us, I will go first, alone, then one by one, you will all have a round, then we’ll move onto pairs, and then threes and fours, until we round it off with everyone in one round.” She looked at all of them carefully. “I’ll be with you on your one by one at first, then you’ll have to do it alone” she said. 

“Why do we need to have a go alone?” Haknyeon asked curiously. 

“Because there will be times when you’ll be facing such dangers on your own, so you have to know how to fight them by yourself,” Jongdae explained. “Trust us when I say that when you know how to hold your own ground, you’ll be able to function well if and when you team up” he gave him a knowing smile. 

“And all of you are quite powerful so I can only see all of you coming out the winner” Sehun added. 

“So, for all of you to see what you might be put up to in this room, please join Junhong inside the control booth” Mirae gestured up. 

Some of them groaned, and Jongdae chuckled. “Come on, we’ll show you how it’s done first,” he glanced at Sehun, Mirae, Hyuk, Chanyeol, Hyejung, and Jinri. “Like old times” he said. 

The twelve boys followed suit and left the room, and they saw them appear in the control booth with Junhong, the door of the room closing with a loud thud. The seven of them stood side to side. “Okay, no man’s land training sequence” Junhong spoke, as he pressed a button. 

“My heart is pounding from the suspense” Eric clutched his chest as they stared at the room from the booth. 

“Okay, what they will see, will also be what we see.” Junhong muttered. 

The panels around the room started to shift, and they saw their surroundings start to change. The 7 of them found themselves in the midst of a dark city. Piles of fire and ice were everywhere, stores were busted through, and hardly anything was in sight, nor could they see a lot. “When you say no man’s land, there’s literally no one else in there” Kevin muttered. 

“Whoa” Chanhee looked in awe. “This just fueled my excitement.” 

“I know. It looks so thrilling” Haknyeon looked amazed. 

“Just like old times, indeed” Hyejung said, looking around. She could feel the wind hit her face and the smell of smoke coming from the blimps in the sky. They looked up and saw that ropes were dropping from what looked like the entrances and exits of the blimps. 

“Okay team, we all know what to do. Everyone, spread out. Hyejung, make sure to stay hidden, if any come your way, displace them. We need to contain whatever’s coming down to us somehow” Jongdae suggested. “If not, take on as many as you can until we get to one point. From the looks of this, there will be hundreds of them coming down” 

They started to run in separate directions. Chanyeol went into the abandoned fire station, Sehun ran towards a run-down hotel, Hyejung kept herself hidden in the entrance of a restaurant, Jinri went to another building, Hyuk went inside a bar, while Mirae hid herself in an alleyway. More ropes dropped down and from the blimps, came masked soldiers, heavily armed with all kinds of guns and ammunition. 

“They’re outnumbered” Sangyeon observed. 

“They’re going to get killed” Changmin’s expression turned from excitement to worry. “But you can’t get killed in here, right?” 

“It’s like watching a video game, only real people are in it” Jaehyun commented. “Whoa…” 

“This looks so real” Jacob muttered. 

“They took down dozens of these before. I have no doubts they can do the same now” Junhong pressed another button. 

Some of the masked soldiers jumped right down when they were 10 feet above the ground, and started to attack. Sehun blew the hood of an old car off its hinges and towards the soldiers, who toppled over like bowling pins. More soldiers then fired their guns at him, and Sehun attacked again by sweeping them up into a tornado, bullets flying everywhere except in his direction. 

Hyuk managed to suspend the first several soldiers that were coming his way before throwing them off towards a building. “Not today” he froze another several soldiers, but he found himself being surrounded by more soldiers who were coming in from the back. “I think it’s time to assemble” he thought, and a portal opened up next to him. He jumped inside right away, finding himself with Hyejung. “Oh, so you got the message” he said, and she nodded. 

Jinri tried to fire her plasma blasts from the shattered windows while Hyejung displaced some soldiers’ bodies by opening and closing a portal right away. As soon as Hyuk appeared, the three of them stepped out in the open to try and fight off the dozens of soldiers that were trying to attack them. “Cover Hyuk!” she yelled, and she stepped in front of the telepath while Hyejung stood behind him. 

Hyejung created a portal in front of her, leading to another spot in the dark city. As a few soldiers started to jump in, she quickly closed the portals, effectively splitting their bodies into two. “That’s what happens when you don’t move quickly” she did the same thing. “Hyuk, you could try and fight them from another direction” she whispered. 

“Good idea” Hyuk said, and jumped into another portal that led to a dark part of the road. He spotted an empty car and in seconds, threw it at the rest of the soldiers who spotted him as well. He suspended a few with a wave of his hand, and twisted and bent their bodies when he curled his fist. The sounds of bones cracking somewhat echoed, and the twisted soldiers fell to the ground. 

Chanyeol spotted a gasoline barrel standing in the station as he was trying to evade the bullets that the soldiers were shooting him. He ran towards it and pushed it down, spilling the contents out onto the road. He clapped his hands together as hard as he could and a wave of fire suddenly appeared onto the gasoline-stained road. He raised his hands and more flames shot out, and he was engulfed in fire, as if made of fire himself. 

“Oh yeah, I’m so cool” he grinned and clapped his hands as loud as he could again, and the wave of fire grew larger, engulfing the next wave of soldiers that entered. He turned around and shot flames at the soldiers that were attacking him from the rear, the bullets that were being fired at him melting in the flames. 

“Whoa” the twelve boys gaped at the sight of their powers. 

“That’s how powerful he is” Junhong nodded. 

“Where’s Mirae?” Younghoon asked. 

“She’s still hiding” Junhong zoomed into the alleyway where she hid. 

Meanwhile, Jongdae hid behind an empty pickup truck, dodging the rounds that were being fired his way. He looked up and tried to think of a plan for himself. “I wish Junmyeon was here” he sighed, and stood up. He raised his hands and his eyes glowed white, thunder and lightning suddenly roaring from the sky. He lowered his hands and the lightning went towards the soldiers. 

“Lightning to metal. Smart” Kevin nodded as he looked on. 

“Do we get to try out this training mode?” Hyunjoon suddenly asked. 

“If and when you’re ready. As you might have noticed, this is the hard mode” Junhong answered. 

“So if this is the hard mode, I can only imagine the easy being anything but” Eric said, nearly leaning on the table, but Juyeon pulled him back up. “I wonder what’ll happen once we’re down there” 

“Mirae” Younghoon was staring at the part of the city where she was.Mirae had kept herself hidden from the oncoming soldiers. Her eyes started to glow and so did her fingertips. She took out the deck of cards she remembered having in her pocket, and with a flourish, threw it at the first wave of masked soldiers that were firing their guns at her. The cards exploded, throwing some of them who were caught in the crossfire off and everywhere. 

She quickly spun her staff as fast as she could, making the rounds ricochet off of it and back towards them. Mirae turned around and ran back as fast as she can, towards another building as more soldiers were coming after her. She slipped into another alleyway and detached the two ends of her staff. “The stairs isn’t going to work, so I hope this will” her eyes were glowing as she plunged the two ends of her staff into the wall, making it crack. She started climbing up the wall as fast as she could with every strike of her staff and with a flip, landed on the rooftop. 

“Wow...” Younghoon looked so impressed. 

Junhong only beamed. “She’s just getting started, kids” he said quietly. 

Mirae ran towards the other end of the building as fast as she could while putting her staff back together. She jumped off, swinging it over her head as fast as she could and upon landing, plunged the sharp end of her staff to the ground. Everyone around her was thrown off their feet, flying several feet away from her. The ground cracked and the windows busted open. Her eyes were glowing brighter than ever as she threw more cards at the soldiers who got back up and tried to attack, running away in time when the cards exploded. 

The boys looked at each other in amazement. “I’ve got chills and I love it” Kevin rubbed his arms excitedly. 

Sehun suddenly appeared, about fifty feet up in the air and lowered himself down with a strong gust of wind. “We need to assemble” he said, and with a wave of his hand, knocked over the remaining soldiers with a gust of wind. Sehun curled his hands into fists and all of a sudden, they could hear gagging, retching noises coming from the soldiers. 

“What was that?” The boys turned to Junhong in surprise. 

Junhong looked just as surprised, but figured it out. “Sehun can manipulate the wind, he can also suffocate a person without even touching them just by sucking the air out of their lungs” 

Mirae nodded and followed him towards a portal inside an abandoned barber shop. It led them to where Jongdae, Chanyeol, Hyuk, Hyejung, and Jinri were, and all of them were looking up at the blimps. “We need to get rid of that” Jongdae said. 

“It might take all of us to do it” Hyejung muttered. 

“Maybe not” an idea formed in Chanyeol’s head. He raised his hands and shot flames towards the blimp. However, the flames fell short. 

“We need to be up on the roof for that to work” Jinri pointed out, and Hyejung made a portal leading to the rooftop again. They all jumped in and she closed it in time after getting in herself. 

They looked up. “If the five of you combine your powers, the blimps can hopefully be destroyed” Mirae looked at them. “There’s more than one blimp, though” 

“Then we’ll have to split up” Sehun suggested. 

Hyejung stood in one side and opened the portal that led to the rooftop of the building next to theirs. “Come on, one of you, go!” 

Jongdae went in without hesitation and Hyejung was careful enough to close it when Jongdae had entered completely. She opened another portal that led to the rooftop of another building and Sehun went inside. “There’s not going to be much time,” Mirae looked down on the streets below. The soldiers that were attacked were getting back up again. Hyuk looked down below and agreed, pushing Chanyeol inside another portal and following after him. “I’ll try and hold them off” she said, using the fire escape to climb down. 

The skies were soon filled with fire, lightning, and strong gusts of wind. In no time, the blimps soon exploded and deflated, falling onto the ground below. 

“Ending No Man’s Land training sequence” Junhong suddenly announced, and the panels shifted once again, bringing them back inside the room. 

“Okay, I feel disoriented now” Hyuk shook his head a few times, but he grinned. “Seems like we never lost our touch” he said to them, and they all went in for a group hug and hit high fives with each other. 

“It felt so cool” Jinri was amazed. “Even better than those goblins last year” 

“That’s the most I’ve used my powers” Sehun chuckled once they pulled away again, and they faced the control room, laughing as they saw the boys cheering and clapping in amazement. “I mean I knew I could do those, but I didn’t think I could really do it in practice” he added. 

“Okay, so, who wants to go first?” Mirae looked up at them, and nearly everyone raised their hands. 

~ 

“Now, remember what you learned from us so far” Jongdae told them as they went back up in the control booth. “Trust your instincts, and never let your guard down...at least in a situation like what you just saw” he added. 

“If you find yourself in a difficult situation, call me and I will help, but this is the first and only time you’ll be able to do so” Mirae nodded. “We’re fighting together, but the next time, I will only appear in emergencies and just as a guide” she added.

“So, have you decided who among you will be going first?” Hyejung asked. 

They nodded. “I’ll go first” Kevin raised his hand, and they quietly cheered him on. “Please take care of me” he chuckled nervously, following Mirae out of the booth and back down into the room itself. 

“I have a feeling I’ll be coming out of this exhausted” Mirae muttered, looking up at them. 

Kevin stood close to Mirae as the panels started to shift again, until he found himself surrounded by sand and trees. He looked down at his own feet and saw sand covering the tips of his shoes. He could hear the birds chirping and the sounds of waves crashing. They were on an island. From afar, he could see an old castle situated on top of a hill. “Now I’m scared” he said. 

Giant, silver robots were suddenly appearing from the ocean, stomping their way inside the forest. Mirae grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him to a larger tree to hide. “Now I’m really scared” Kevin tried to peek, but nearly met a laser beam. 

“Learn to suppress your fear. It won’t do you any good here, now run!” Mirae said to him, and sprinted towards the trees. Kevin followed suit, yelling as he missed the shots being taken at the two of them as they ran. The distance between the hill and where they were seemed to expand the more they tried to get closer. 

The two of them skidded to a halt and he wondered what to do as the robots were inching closer. “The only chance we have of staying alive is if we take them apart” she said quietly. 

“Take them apart? Like we do it separately?” Kevin asked. 

“No, I mean literally pull them limb from limb. You’re strong, aren’t you?” Mirae pointed out. “I’ll distract them while you do whatever you can to take them down” she said, pushing him forward. 

“What?! What?!” Kevin panicked some more. “Well, okay” he said, and he charged at the oncoming robots, and as they collided, he felt himself slide several feet further from where he initially was. He could hear explosions coming from another part, and he figured it was Mirae trying to hold her ground as best as she could. He got up, brushed the sand off his clothes and dodged the beams that were still being thrown at him. 

“Nice one, Kev” Jacob and Eric cheered from the booth. 

“He’s doing really well” Sangyeon nodded. 

Kevin stared at the robot in front of him, trying to see if there were any vulnerable spots he could attack with. “Okay, let’s see,” he rolled towards another tree, dodging a beam. “If I try and hit the head, I can get rid of the beams, or I could die, then again I don’t think I can get killed inside a training sequence, what am I even thinking?” he muttered nervously. He looked around. “How can I hit that?” he ran towards another tree, where he saw Mirae. “Now I need help, please” he said. 

“What have you thought about our situation so far?” She asked, throwing a card at another robot and ducking just in time at the explosion. “By the time I’m done with half of you, I’d have used up all my playing cards” she reached into her pocket to feel the remainder of the deck. 

“The body’s impenetrable by any outside force” Kevin explained, peeking at the robots. “But the head can be its most vulnerable part, that’s where the laser beams are coming from. You can aim your card at the head” he said. 

“Alright, I’ll distract the robot up front. You run and tackle it from behind. Make sure to get the head” she said, before running out and confronting the robot. 

Kevin ran as fast as he could through the forest until he reached a part where there were no more robots. “Here goes nothing” he took a deep breath, and started running towards the robot in the middle again He groaned as he picked up speed and with a large leap, he landed on the robot’s shoulders. 

“Whoa!” they all said from the booth, some of them cheering. 

“Wow, Kevin’s doing a lot better than expected” Jongdae nodded, glancing at Hyejung, who just grinned. “He could be useful in the missions” he muttered. 

Kevin tried his hardest to hang on, dodging the arms that were reaching for him. Mirae was throwing one card after another at the two other robots. He twisted the head off, and looked inside. It was full of wires. “I can’t just pull these out,” he could feel the body of the robot start to give in and fall. “Or maybe I can” he yanked a bunch of wires clumped together out and jumped off just in time when the robot suddenly exploded. 

He landed on the ground next to Mirae. “One down, two more to go, kid” she said. “Do you want a boost?” 

“Yes please” Kevin nodded, and he stared at Mirae, whose eyes were glowing. She boosted him up, high enough for him to land on the shoulders of the second robot, twisting the head off and yanking the wires. This time, he jumped towards the third robot, and twisted and yanked the head and wires out. 

“Ending, easy mode of island ambush training sequence,” Junhong announced, and the surroundings went back to normal. 

Mirae chuckled and retracted her staff once the surroundings changed and patted Kevin on the back. “You did very well” she gave him a thumbs up. 

“Thank you” Kevin let out a big sigh of relief as he tried to get rid of his disoriented feeling. Everything was so realistic, he forgot he was inside the Danger Room all along. The doors suddenly opened and the rest of them came in, clapping and cheering for him. 

~ 

The boys all gathered for lunch later that day. They occupied the bar-type seats in the cafeteria, taking whatever dish that was on the line of little boats and rafts. “So, how was it?” Sangyeon asked curiously while they ate. 

“It was so realistic,” Kevin said. “I could really smell the ocean, and there was sand and everything! It’s like you’re really there! I don’t know how Junhong did it, but everything was so real that I got disoriented when everything went back to normal” 

“Was it scary, though?” Sunwoo suddenly asked. 

“Oh yeah, the fear starts to seep in when you face those things, but Mirae told me to suppress it as it won’t do me any good. Somehow it worked” Kevin nodded. “The fear just caught up with me that I forgot…” 

“Well, she is the expert” Jacob said. “You did really well, though. You finished it. I wonder if I could finish mine” 

“You’ll know when it’s your turn, I can tell you” Kevin assured him. “I would have wanted to talk to Mirae more about it but she already left” he said, glancing at Younghoon, who was quietly eating a sandwich. 

“So, who wants to go next tomorrow?” Sangyeon asked them. His question suddenly made Kevin look at Younghoon and Juyeon again, upon remembering the latest dream Sangyeon had. “I can go last” he suddenly added. 

“I can go next” Jaehyun said. “I’m excited. It’s going to be the first time in a while I don’t have to wear these sunglasses. I can’t keep seeing red, I don’t want to keep seeing red” he added. 

“Unless you get experimented on, or unless you learn how to take control” Kevin advised. “That power of yours is going to come in handy, though.” 

“I guess. But I will learn how to do it, I will do whatever it takes for me to wear these glasses a little less than usual” Jaehyun declared. 

“Join the club, I’d like to not wear gloves everyday” Younghoon suddenly said. “Junmyeon told me with further training, I could control it” 

“Look on the bright side,” Changmin said. “You can fly, and you’re also very strong, like Superman” he grinned. 

“An untouchable Superman” Chanhee pointed out. He looked around for a moment to see if anyone else was around. “I was thinking of sneaking into the Danger Room tonight, anyone want to come with?” he lowered his voice. 

Sangyeon raised a brow at him. “Why?” 

“Because I’ve waited too long and who knows when my turn’s going to come. Jaehyun’s already called dibs on using it next” Chanhee replied impatiently. 

Jaehyun gave him a look. “If you wanted to go next, then I will gladly step aside so you can use the room. Do you even know how to use the controls?” 

“He’s right, you don’t know how to operate the room” Kevin added. 

“I don’t, but you do” Chanhee looked smug, and Kevin stared at him. “You’ve seen Junhong work on the controls, right? Then you can work the booth!” he said. 

Kevin shook his head. “Jaehyun’s already letting you go tomorrow instead of him. If anything, Younghoon should be the one who goes next for slightly obvious reasons” he said and Chanhee rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t bring me into this. I’m perfectly okay being one of the last ones to use the room” Younghoon remarked. “I just want to use the room properly” he added. 

“Can we dial down the hostility?, I get you want to use the Danger Room,” Sunwoo suddenly cut in, glancing at Chanhee. “But Mirae’s trying to ease us into using it so I think we should just go with how she does it . You can’t just hop out of the frying pan and into the fire when it comes to this. You might even get yourself killed unless someone ends the training sequence” he explained. 

Sangyeon finished his food and got up. “I think it’s time for us to get back into training in our separate rooms. Hyuk and Chanyeol will be waiting for us later today so we should just calm down and not get ahead of ourselves before we use the room again” he said, and the rest of them followed suit. 

~ 

They all assembled inside a room the size of a large classroom. It had metal dummies and busts on the other end of the room as well as a chalkboard. This time however, large targets were placed on the busts, and there was a deck of flashcards on the sole desk that was placed in the corner of the room. Hyuk and Chanyeol entered, and they all bowed at each other. “Kevin, you’re needed in the lab” Hyuk suddenly spoke. 

“Alright” Kevin nodded and rushed out of the room, leaving the rest of them looking puzzled. 

“Okay, we understand that after seeing what happened in the Danger Room is going to be hard to top. We’ve been filled in on what the rest of you can do, but there’s no harm in practicing it” Chanyeol explained. 

Hyuk smiled. “It’s to prepare you for what you’re about to face in the Danger Room. I know what all of you are thinking, even we had to prepare” he said. “Who here still has some trouble controlling their powers?” he asked. Younghoon, Jaehyun, Sunwoo, and Haknyeon raised their hands. “Alright, those who still have trouble can go with me. Chanyeol will take the rest of you for some practice” 

They scattered and went to the different parts of the room. “Is this room fireproof?” Chanyeol asked them, and they nodded. “Oh good, then we won’t have much problems in that area” he said. He looked at them carefully. “So, how do we start? They really didn’t tell us much about what to do…” he muttered. 

Chanyeol looked around again at the objects behind them, and started setting them up. He lined up the busts and the dummies and placed a coin on the floor. He even shuffled the flashcards he found that had pictures of everyone in the room and in the whole center, including his own, Hyuk, and Mirae. “Okay, our abilities should only be limited to the confines of this room for now,” he explained. “So, who wants to show off their abilities first?” he asked. 

“I will” Hyunjoon stepped forward. He looked around and then closed his eyes. A large, yellow disk suddenly appeared above his head and he started muttering something to himself. They watched as the disk suddenly lowered itself on his head, and he disappeared. The disk soon reappeared next to the ceramic bust in the middle and revealed Hyunjoon when it lowered itself. 

Hyunjoon clasped his hands together, his eyes still closed and muttering some more to himself until the disk disappeared. He looked into the window and his eyes widened as he saw a mix of visions in the glass, one of which showed Sangyeon, and then Younghoon with Mirae. He turned back to the rest of the group, who were eyeing him curiously. “Did you see something?” Chanyeol asked. He nodded, and quietly went back to his place, not wanting to reveal what he had seen just yet. 

“I can go next” Chanhee suddenly spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen. He stepped forward and Chanyeol nodded, holding up a photo of Kevin. In an instant, he had transformed into their colleague, and even tried to imitate his voice and mannerisms, making everyone laugh. 

Hyunjoon glanced at Juyeon, and then at Sangyeon. “You were there when Sangyeon hyung was dreaming again, right?” he asked quietly. 

“Y-yeah, I was,” Juyeon nodded. “Why? You saw something again?” 

Hyunjoon nodded. “It’s not good. I need to look into it some more, but it’s not good.” he said, watching Chanhee imitate him next. 

When Chanyeol held up a photo of Mirae, Chanhee immediately transformed into her, clothes included, much to Younghoon’s surprise. When he turned back into his original form, Younghoon turned his attention back to Hyuk, who had noticed the way he reacted. 

“So, what else can you do apart from transform into literally anyone?” Chanyeol asked him. 

Chanhee looked up in thought. “I-I guess I can add numbers quickly?” he shrugged. “It’s been useful, though” he added. “Oh, I can heal too. I think, and Sangyeon couldn’t read my mind well” 

“Junhong says it’s because of the grey matter or something like that” Sangyeon explained. “Because Chanhee can turn into anyone, his mind is somehow shielded, but not entirely. His mind would be hazy” 

Chanyeol nodded. “When you’re in a situation much like the one you’ll experience in the Danger Room, make sure to use those to your advantage. Your abilities would make you a great spy” he said. “Have you ever considered it?” 

“The thought crossed my mind once or twice…” Chanhee replied shyly. 

“Will we be able to do those things you guys did before?” Changmin asked. 

Chanyeol shrugged. “Maybe, unless Ino hyung says you aren’t ready yet. But honestly, there’s no way you’ll be ready for things like that. It’ll always catch you off guard or when you’re at your most relaxed” he admitted. “What happened a few weeks ago was just like that too” 

Over at Hyuk’s part of the room, he stood behind a table of glasses. “Okay, it can be quite scary to still struggle with controlling your powers, and I know how powerful all of you can be when given the right motivation” he began. “Fortunately, with more and more practice over time, you can learn how to control it, control when you tap into it and suppress it when you don’t need or want to use it” he explained. “Jaehyun, please come forward” 

Jaehyun stepped forward, staring at the glasses. He figured out what he would be doing, but there was something he wanted to ask. “Will I be able to learn how to control this?” 

“I know you can, even if it seems impossible” Hyuk replied. It was all he could say. He knew that Jaehyun was struggling, he could hear his thoughts. But he also knew that he experienced the same thing when he first realized his powers. “Okay, you’ll need to continue practicing your aim. Think of this as a video game you play at arcades” he said. “On the count of 3, you will remove your glasses and close your eyes, okay?” 

He nodded and Hyuk could tell that his eyes were closed. “Okay” 

“One,” the glasses started to float in front of him. “Two,” Jaehyun’s hand was poised on his specs. “Three” 

Jaehyun’s eyes were shut tight as he took the glasses off. “Good, open one eye and then the other when you aim, alright?” Hyuk instructed him. 

“I’ll try” Jaehyun said, a little panicked this time. A forcefield suddenly covered Hyuk as well as Younghoon, Haknyeon, and Sunwoo. 

“Now” Hyuk said, and the forcefield that protected him was met by a strong optic blast from Jaehyun’s eye. “Control it” he advised, and the forcefield was met once again by another blast. 

“I’m trying” Jaehyun groaned, keeping his eyes shut tight. 

“Squint if you must, but learn to control it. Your power’s within you, you’re the master, not the slave” Hyuk urged, keeping the rest of the glasses afloat. “Think of a pinhole, think of how you can fit the beams into it” he added. 

Jaehyun clenched his fists as he tried to do what Hyuk advised. I control my powers, they don’t control me, he thought. As he slowly opened his eyes, another beam flashed and he closed his eyes again. “I don’t know, I don’t know how” he muttered in frustration as he put his glasses back on, but to his surprise, he only saw a small hole in the glass right in front of Hyuk, who looked just as surprised as he was, but more pleased. 

“You did it” Hyuk said, letting the rest of the glasses land on the table again. “It’s a start, but with more practice, you’ll find yourself wearing those glasses less.”

They smiled, and as the forcefields disappeared, Younghoon, Haknyeon, and Sunwoo went up to him, patting him on the back. “Good job!” they told him.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to get weird. Plus, we get to see Hwall do some wizard-y things.

The next day, Chanhee was running for dear life around a run-down amusement park, being tailed by an army of similar-looking men in suits and holding handguns. “Meta-human gene spotted, fire at will” one of them said in a very flat voice, and the resounding echo of shots being fired towards where Chanhee was running to were heard. He stumbled and rolled over into the hidden part of the merry-go-round, watching Mirae, who was spinning her staff to defend herself against the bullets that were flying. 

He was terrified, and now he knew what Kevin meant when he said he nearly forgot everything he knew. “What am I going to do? What am I going to do?” He asked himself, nearly squealing as a bullet nearly hit his head. 

“Use your powers!” Mirae told him, her eyes already glowing as she threw a few cards at them, running a few feet away from the explosion. The men were unharmed, but already had some flames on their clothes and hair and burn marks on their faces. “Think of what you can do and how you can use it in this situation” she urged him, pulling him to his feet. 

“You can do it, Chanhee!” the boys cheered from the control room. Sangyeon watched closely, trying to see how he could do it if he was in Chanhee’s place. He looked at each of the suited men, but his attention soon shifted to the strange looking man in the very corner of the amusement park. He wasn’t dressed like the men, and he was standing by the hall of mirrors. He was bald, wearing a pinstripe suit, round sunglasses, and holding a cane. His eyes were glowing yellow. 

He stepped back in surprise when he saw the man’s appearance change. He turned into a white blob of a creature, and he was grinning. It was the same man in his dreams. Sangyeon nearly tripped on a wire and fell over behind Junhong’s chair. 

“Are you okay?” Jacob and Kevin helped him up. “You look shaken” they said. Sangyeon couldn’t say anything. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?” Jacob asked.

“I-I uh, I-I just tripped” Sangyeon tried to say, but Kevin and Jacob shook their heads. 

“You might need to go through some tests again” Kevin advised, eyeing Younghoon and Hyuk. 

Sangyeon knew what he was thinking. “No, no, it’s not that, I don’t need to. I’m alright, really” he assured them. 

“You aren’t” Jacob looked at him knowingly. “Something is clearly wrong, I can tell” he said. He turned to Kevin. “He does need to go through some tests. This is the fifth time this month you’ve suddenly been like this” 

“Sangyeon,” Hyejung suddenly spoke. “Go to the lab with Kevin. Ino oppa will be joining you there” she said firmly. 

“Why are you all looking at me like something’s wrong?” Sangyeon was starting to get annoyed. 

“Because something is wrong if you keep having intense nightmares and doing that” Hyejung replied. “The other night, Younghoon had to touch you to wake you up. That’s how bad it’s gotten” she said quietly. 

“You know something but you’re not telling me what it is, I can read your minds, you know” Sangyeon said, looking at all of them. 

Jongdae shook his head. “You’re the one who’s not telling us something. Please, go with Kevin to the lab.” 

Sangyeon frowned. He couldn’t believe his colleagues were starting to treat him like this. In a way, they had a point to all this. There was something he wasn’t telling them, and perhaps only Younghoon, Ino, and Hyuk knew what it was. Hyunjoon may have had an inkling to it as well. He sighed in defeat and followed Kevin out of the booth, along with Hyuk, who offered to assist. 

“Amusement park training sequence ending” Junhong suddenly said, and the panels started to shift, bringing everything back to how it originally looked. “Good job, Chanhee” he said. 

“I could do better next time. I wasn’t as prepared for it as I thought” Chanhee frowned a little. He looked at his jacket, feeling a spot on it where he recalled getting shot at by an invisible bullet. 

“Don’t worry about it. No one tends to know what to do at first. You did what you could” Mirae assured him as they left the room and entered the control booth. “So, who’s next?” she asked. 

Jaehyun raised his hand. “I’m next and I’m nervous, I’m not going to lie” he admitted, making them laugh. 

“You’ll do fine” Mirae assured him. “Your looks could kill, quite literally” she joked, and they laughed. “You’re next later” she added. 

Chanyeol clapped his hands. “I think it’s time for lunch” he declared, and they all went out of the room, cheering. Mirae waited for all of them to leave before stepping out of the room herself. 

She closed the door behind her, and stepped back when she saw Younghoon waiting for her. “Hey” he said with a smile. 

“Hi?” Mirae smiled back, and the two of them walked behind the crowd together. 

“You must be tired” He glanced at her while they walked. 

Mirae shrugged. “A little, but not really. Compared to Kevin’s sequence, this was less difficult” she replied. 

Younghoon nodded as he listened. “So, what sequence do you think would be difficult?” he asked. 

She raised a brow at him. He was grinning. “I don’t know, haven’t tried out all the sequences yet,” she said. “What do you think?” 

“I think the hardest one would be the post-apocalyptic. All those run-down buildings and mountains of rubble are bound to make me nervous” he said. He took a deep breath, amazed at his own newfound confidence in talking to her. “Does anything make you nervous?” 

Mirae chuckled. “Define nervous” she said, nodding in thanks as he held the door open for her in the cafeteria. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Younghoon gave her a cheeky grin. “The fact that you’re with someone like myself” he said. 

“Do you think you make me nervous?” Mirae raised a brow at him. 

“I’ve usually had that effect on people. They say it’s my good looks” Younghoon said. 

She let out a laugh. “You talk a good game for someone who doesn’t like touching people” she said, occupying another table by the line of boats. “For the record, I don’t think anything can phase me anymore” she added. “Not even guys as good-looking as you are” 

“Nicely played” Younghoon’s grin remained, and he sat down across from her. 

Mirae took a bowl of pasta from one of the boats, while Younghoon took the platter of dumplings and a bowl of rice. “I’m glad the nervousness is going away anyway. What got you to warm up?” she said. 

He shrugged. “Maybe because I know you’ll be there to help, at least before I have to go in alone” he said. “Plus you’re beautiful, so I’m further motivated” the cheeky grin returned, making her snort. 

“I’m beautiful? That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say it out right” she ate a forkful of her pasta. “Well, you really are quite handsome yourself” she added. 

Younghoon grinned. “I know” and they laughed. 

~ 

Sangyeon watched Kevin look at the several monitors from outside the room he was in. He sat on a reclining chair, surrounded by several machines. It reminded him of being inside the doctor’s or dentist’s office. 

Ino suddenly appeared outside as well, taking a look at what Kevin was doing. He had little modules stuck on his forehead that connected to what looked like a monitor showing his life line. 

Junhong suddenly came in, and whispered something to Ino. Ino suddenly nodded and patted both of them on the back before teleporting away. “Okay, now I’m bored,” Sangyeon called out to them. “What’s going on? What did you see?” 

Kevin got up and went inside. “Your tests are relatively okay,” he began, and Sangyeon breathed a sigh of relief. “But it’s clear that something seems to be troubling you. You must have seen something while Chanhee was going through his training sequence inside the Danger Room” 

The telepath looked down and sighed in defeat. “Those dreams I’ve been having are all the same, about this giant, white, blob of a man, with yellow eyes…” he explained quietly. “It reminds me of the book my father used to read to me before I went to sleep when I was 12. Joowon the Bad Kid was the title, I think. My father probably read that to me to remind me of what happens when kids do bad things…” 

“Does the kid look like what you’ve dreamed of?” Kevin asked, and Sangyeon shook his head. 

“No, nothing like that at all. In the book, Joowon ends up setting his parents on fire because he played with matches, and before that, he got his hands caught in a mousetrap because he wanted to get the cheese,” Sangyeon frowned as he remembered it. “Looking back at it now, I don’t know why we had that book” 

Kevin nodded. “Maybe we need to look into your memories, only I don’t know how to go about that, maybe Hyunjoon can help me out” he said. “We can do this after lunch. Chanhee’s probably done training by now” 

Sangyeon took off the modules on his forehead and got off the chair. As they walked out of the room, Ino suddenly appeared, making Kevin step back in surprise. “Sorry. Kevin, please come to my office? We need to discuss some things. Sangyeon, go have lunch” he said, then disappeared. 

The two of them exchanged looks. “I’ll take the elevator” Kevin pressed the button. 

“Alright” and Sangyeon teleported. 

As soon as he was gone, the doors opened and Kevin stepped inside the elevator. Once the doors closed, Ino appeared again, and he nearly fell over. “Hyung, do you mind? You nearly gave me a heart attack” he clutched his chest. 

Ino shook his head. “So, what else did you find?” he asked. 

Kevin knew what he meant. “It seems like there’s some sort of parasite, altering Sangyeon’s memories. From what I gathered, he saw the same kind of monster in the Danger Room in his dreams” he shrugged, unsure how to explain it. 

Ino nodded. “I get what you’re saying. Sangyeon could be very dangerous if that parasite continues to feed on him.” 

His words made Kevin shudder. “He also said it reminded him of that story his father used to read to him when he was younger-” 

“Joowon the Bad Kid” Ino finished. 

“Yeah, and I think we may need Hyunjoon to help us out” 

“Good call” Ino nodded. “I’ll see you in my office. There’s someone there that needs our help and I plan on sending a group of you guys to help him out” he added, before vanishing again. 

~ 

“So, I didn’t know you two were together, all this time” Hyejung told Jinri, while glancing at Jacob. “Since when did that happen? I thought you didn’t like younger guys” she said. 

Jinri glanced at Jacob as well, then shrugged. “It just happened. But you can’t tell anyone, unfortunately Sangyeon already knows, and I don’t doubt that Hyuk would know by now. Hyunjoon told me he had an feeling it would be this way” she explained. 

“Then why aren’t you two sitting together right now?” Hyejung asked. 

She shook her head. “We don’t need to always be together, and have you heard? Ino oppa’s going to group us all. There’s another mission” she said. “Or missions, rather. Kevin went to his office. Mirae and Younghoon were also called in, Juyeon, Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Sehun also left” Jinri looked around. It had become significantly less crowded, as the people she mentioned seemed to leave in a hurry. 

Hyejung nodded. “So it seems. They might be going first, huh?” and Jinri nodded. She looked down at her empty plate. “Well, if Mirae’s leaving for the mission, who’s going to train the rest in the Danger Room?” 

“Us, I guess” Junmyeon suddenly said, sitting down at the table across from them. He was soon joined by Jongdae, who brought his half-eaten plate of steak and mashed potatoes over. The rest of them, including Jacob, also decided to sit closer to them as well, with the latter choosing to sit next to Jinri this time. “She’s right, though. We’ve all had an equal amount of experience. We could do the training ourselves.”

“Mirae said I was next after lunch, so I’m guessing it might not be the case anymore” Jaehyun spoke, looking down at his plate of chicken and waffles. 

“Another mission?” Jongdae looked over at the door, and the three of them nodded, while the rest of the boys looked at them as if they heard some good news. “They’re going on one?” he asked, and they nodded again. “Us too?” 

“Apparently” Jinri replied, leaning against Jacob while she finished her food. 

“We’re not exactly ready yet. Kevin hyung and Chanhee hyung maybe, but the rest of us aren’t” Haknyeon looked at them with concern. Sunwoo also looked worried, as did Eric. Hyunjoon on the other hand, remained very calm. 

“Well, don’t worry. If we’re going on a mission, we’ll all be together” Hyejung assured them. “If not all of us together, then at least we’ll be in groups together. Not many of us are capable of doing solo ones anyway” she added. 

It seemed to ease their worries, but only a little, as Ino suddenly appeared, making them flinch in surprise. “Hyejung, Junmyeon, Chanhee, Eric, Jaehyun, and Changmin,” he began, making them sit up. “Come with me to the study now please” he said, before vanishing. 

“W-wait, what about us?” Jongdae said, but Ino had already disappeared before he could ask. The ones who were called suddenly got up, Chanhee excitedly taking a few more bites of his food before finally dropping his spoon on the table with a slight clang. 

“Seems like you guys will be in another mission,” Junmyeon told them. “We’ll see you guys when we’re back or something” 

“Be careful” Sangyeon advised them, as he watched them leave. It was only him, Hyunjoon, Jinri, Jongdae, Sunwoo, Haknyeon, and Jacob left. “What do you think we’ll do?” he asked. 

They shrugged. “To me, the question would be where,” Hyunjoon said quietly. “Where would we go for our mission?” He kept thinking about his vision the previous day, about Sangyeon and how dangerous he was, and how dangerous he could be. Hyunjoon knew he needed to stick around, even if Ino didn’t know what he was doing. 

“Maybe there’s something to do right here,” Sunwoo looked around. “There could be something lurking in the depths of this place” he suddenly cringed. “I hope not, but that can’t be helped, can it?” and they shook their heads. 

“You do realize that we’re all in this together, right? You won’t be facing whatever we have to find alone” Jinri assured him. 

~ 

Kevin, Juyeon, Mirae, Younghoon, Sehun, Chanyeol, and Hyuk were inside Ino’s office. There was a woman seated on the one chair in front of Ino’s desk while they squeezed themselves in the couch. Ino gestured for them, and the woman nodded in approval. Hyuk seemed to know what was going on. 

“I’m afraid, that ever since the incidents that have been happening in the country lately, more disturbances have crept up in other countries,” the woman began. 

“M-may we ask what your name is?” Kevin said, a little unsure of what to say. 

The woman stood up. “My underlings call me madam, to my superiors, I’m referred to as W” she explained. 

“W? Just W?” Hyuk said. 

“Just W” she repeated. “You might have figured out by now what I am about to ask of you, of all of you,” she eyed each of them. “Countries are starting to turn on each other, alliances some have with others have been broken, some of the disturbances happening in other countries have them at each other’s throats, and if this continues long enough, there will be war.” 

“With whom?” Chanyeol asked. 

“Everyone. A world war.” 

They all exchanged looks with each other, before looking back at W. “So it’s up to us to get to the source first before the fighting starts, right?” Hyuk asked, and she nodded. 

“This, truthfully, isn’t the first time the world called upon the services of special people, as you may have learned,” W explained. “But it’s as important now more than ever. The world leaders are said to have a secret conference in Iceland in three days, so we need all of you to get there as soon as possible in case anything happens” she finished. 

“Do you have any idea on who’s behind this whole thing?” Sehun suddenly spoke. 

W smiled at him. “We believe, or well, we know that the one who claims responsibility for this refers to themselves as Prometheus” 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae glanced at each other. “Is it safe to assume that this Prometheus person wants to rule the world?” the fire controller asked, and W nodded. “And that they likely come from a cult?” W nodded again. 

“How did you know?” she asked. 

“We dealt with them, apparently not everyone was arrested that day” Hyuk replied flatly, making Juyeon, Kevin, and Younghoon stare at them. “They were responsible for the disappearances weeks ago” 

Mirae suppressed a sigh and looked down. “Then it’s more important now than ever, isn’t it?” W pointed out, and they nodded. “The seven of you have to be there in three days. Good luck” they stood up and shook hands, Younghoon being a little hesitant when it was his turn. When the door closed behind her, Ino appeared again, nodding knowingly. 

“So, time to pack what you need. It’s going to get cold” Ino told them. He glanced at Mirae and nodded. “Given your mode of transportation, I can tell you right now that it’s best to leave today” he added. 

That made them all look at him curiously. “We’re not taking the jet?” Juyeon asked, and Ino shook his head. 

“Oh” Kevin figured out what he meant, and suddenly smiled. “This is exciting. We’re going on a real mission, not like the one in the Danger Room, but a real mission” he said quietly. 

“If you’re excited, we’re nervous” Chanyeol commented. “We’ll have to go home first and get our things” he added as they left the room one by one. 

~ 

At the study, Ino handed Hyejung a thick folder labeled “Confidential.” The six of them looked over as she opened the file, taking a closer look at the photos that came with it. “Happydale Homes” Hyejung read the title of the file. 

“I got this from W, who asked me to put together a group that could go there and investigate. There’s reports of disturbances, like the place is haunted or something like that,” Ino explained. “The people who went in there before reported seeing delusions, things they fear suddenly coming to life or something like that” 

“So it isn’t haunted then?” Changmin asked. “I wonder if it’ll be like those horror movies on tv. I like those.” 

“This isn’t tv, Changmin. You never really know what could happen” Hyejung pointed out. 

“Plus, it also used to be a facility for the severely mentally ill, so pretty much an asylum.” Ino said. 

Hyejung cringed. “Good thing Mirae isn’t here with us, then.” 

“Exactly. She’ll be going with Kevin, Younghoon, and Juyeon to do another mission.” Ino nodded. He knew what she meant. 

Jaehyun held up a photo of the exterior. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was, I mean, look at all those gravestones? You think it wouldn’t be haunted by now?” he said. 

“I agree. I mean, Jongdae told me about the thing at the museum with all those spidery things. I have a feeling that it’s going to be the same thing” Junmyeon cringed as he read the report over Hyejung’s shoulder.” 

Ino nodded. “You won’t have a problem with it, I’m sure. It’s also why I’m coming with you, so things like that don’t happen-” he suddenly paused, as if going into a trance. “Oh.” he muttered. 

“Oh? What’s that “oh” hyung?” Junmyeon raised a brow at him upon noticing. 

“I have to stay behind. Sangyeon will need my help more than you guys” he said blankly. 

“What’s going on with Sangyeon anyway? He’s been having those intense dreams a lot” Jaehyun remarked, but Ino waved a hand dismissively. He sighed. “Well, when do we leave?” he asked. 

“Tonight. You’ll be taking the jet, and since Junhong hasn’t worked out the cloaking feature, you’ll all have to go there discreetly.” Ino replied. “Gather everything that you need, and good luck” 

They stood up and left the room, taking the file folder with them. “So much for getting to try out the Danger Room” Eric muttered as they went to the elevator. 

“On the bright side, you won’t need the Danger Room for now,” Junmyeon pointed out. “Why practice when you can dive headfirst into the real action?” he added. “Pun intended”

Hyejung rolled her eyes. “I know you like water, but you don’t need to make puns about it all the time” and the water bender laughed as they went in. 

“I’m sorry, I must have flooded your mind with all these puns” Junmyeon laughed some more, and they poked him as the doors closed. 

As they rode up to their sleeping quarters, Changmin caught up with Hyejung and Junmyeon before they entered their rooms. “Hey, what did you mean about Mirae not being with us in this mission being a good thing?” he asked curiously. 

Hyejung and Junmyeon glanced at each other and nodded. “Mirae, well, when her parents found out that she was a mutant like us, they admitted her to a sanitarium, and even strongly suggested that electroshock treatment was the type of treatment she needed,” Hyejung explained. Changmin looked taken aback, and they nodded knowingly at his reaction. “Her powers only grew stronger and that was where she met Jihoon, but that doesn’t take away the fact that she was living a nightmare all those years.” 

Changmin nodded in understanding. “And then I thought Hyunjoon was the only one who had a dark story..” 

They smiled at him. “Go and get ready. We’ll be boarding later tonight.” Junmyeon patted him on the shoulder before heading to his room. 

~ 

Ino suddenly appeared to Sangyeon, Jinri, Jacob, Hyunjoon, Sunwoo, Jongdae, and Haknyeon in the library as he had instructed them. “Are we going on a mission too?” Jongdae immediately asked him as soon as he appeared. 

“Sort of. But this mission will need us here” Ino explained. 

Haknyeon, Jinri, Sunwoo, Jacob, and Jongdae looked confused. “Here? We’re not going out?” they asked him. 

“Well, our bodies will be here. Our consciousness will be somewhere else” Ino said. “We’ll help Sangyeon figure out what’s going on in his head” he added. 

The telepath looked surprised and slightly embarrassed, but he knew it was important. He didn’t want to keep being haunted by the memory of that strange blob of a man. It was getting harder to concentrate whenever he remembered those glowing yellow eyes. Even in the Danger Room simulation he would catch a glimpse of it. He didn’t even know what it was exactly, so he couldn’t tell anyone apart from Kevin. 

The rest of them however, looked intrigued. “How are we going to do that?” Jinri asked. 

“There are two ways we can do it,” Ino leaned on the table. “The first way is to have Junhong sedate all of us so we all wind up in the same astral plane as Sangyeon.” 

“Needles?” Haknyeon cringed, and Ino nodded. “What’s the second one?” 

“The second one is to have Hyunjoon transport us, but not everyone can go as there are some who have to be on the lookout in case the others are back sooner. It’ll just be Junhong in here as you probably figured” Ino finished. He looked at each of their reactions. “So? Which way do we do this?” 

“We’ll get sedated, I mean,” Jongdae looked around at them. “They’ll want to get in on the action too after all, and, more heads are better than one when it comes to figuring out what’s going on?” he said, and they agreed. 

Ino smiled. “Good. We’ll do this in here. Let me call on Junhong, he might be fixing up the other ship because one team has to leave right away, or at least once they’re all here and ready” he explained. 

“The other ship?” Sunwoo spoke this time. “You mean we have another vehicle aside from the jet?” 

“Yeah, a submarine.” Ino replied simply, and everyone gaped at him, including Jongdae and Jinri. “The port is a few miles away though, accessible through a tunnel we built.” he explained. 

“I’m not sure if I should be envious or if I should be relieved. Jaehyun’s group is taking the jet, Kevin’s group is taking the submarine, and we’re just here” Sunwoo glanced at his colleagues. 

“Doesn’t make what we’re about to do less dangerous, though” Jacob pointed out. “We’re going inside the astral plane” 

“It’s a Nightmare on Elm Street kind of situation,” Jinri said, and they all stared at her in confusion. “You guys….don’t know that movie?” she asked, and they shook their heads, including Jongdae. “Wait, a better reference would be...Inception” and they all nodded knowingly. “But it’s mostly Nightmare on Elm Street” and Ino laughed. 

“Okay, so, do we do this now or later?” Hyunjoon raised his hand to ask. 

“Maybe a little later. Just prepare, hmm?” Ino said, and they agreed. 

They all got up and left the room one by one, but the moment Sangyeon stepped outside, he collapsed. He felt his consciousness leave his body, and he found himself in a familiar place, a place he hadn’t been to in a long time. He was already in the astral plane. 

Sangyeon looked around at the inky blackness that surrounded him, and the glimmering sand-like ground under his feet. “No, I’m not supposed to be here yet, no” he muttered, looking frightened. 

“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, while Joowon sets fire on the living world” a voice sang, sending chills down his spine. 

“Joowon the bad kid” he muttered, looking around for the source of the sound. The voice kept singing and singing each time he turned. 

“Tick tock, goes the clock, he cradled and he rocked her, tick tock goes the clock, ‘til Joowon commits a murder” the voice sang this time. 

Sangyeon could feel the fear seep inside him, if it was even possible to do that. He was in his own head, and he didn’t know how to get out. The voice grew louder and closer, until, from the shadows, the white blob creature appeared in front of him, grinning. “You sent me, didn’t you?” he said. 

“Tick tock, goes the clock, Joowon the bad kid, mother, tick tock, goes the clock, Joowon kill you further” the blob went up to him. “I’ll need your body to myself for a bit, thanks” he hissed, and out of nowhere, Sangyeon was sent flying towards a box the size of a coffin and vanished. 

~ 

“Sangyeon, Sangyeon,” Jinri and Jongdae were shaking him awake. He wouldn’t stir. “Ino oppa! Oppa! He’s collapsed!” Jinri called for him. 

Hyunjoon touched his forehead and closed his eyes, trying to feel any unusual energy inside. He muttered a few words and opened his eyes again as Ino levitated Sangyeon’s body. “He’s trapped, inside his head. I think we need to get in there quickly. Whatever it was is already trying to take over his body” he explained. 

“Come on, we’ll go down to the lab, hurry” Ino suddenly vanished, and so did Hyunjoon with Sangyeon’s body. 

The rest of them looked at each other and rolled their eyes. “Showoffs, just because they can teleport” Jongdae muttered, as they rushed to the elevator. 

In a few moments, they arrived at the lab, and Junhong was already bringing in eight syringes while Ino and Hyunjoon attached modules to Sangyeon’s head. “Okay, I’m suddenly so nervous” Jacob looked at the setup. There were two benches behind the chair were Sangyeon sat, big enough to accommodate all of them sitting down. 

“Okay, due to a sudden unfortunate circumstance, this mission will have to start faster than I thought,” Junhong gestured for them to sit down and they took their places. He handed them the syringes that were filled with a clear liquid. “Okay, all of you will be under sedation, which will bring you to the astral plane, after some perfecting and some magic care of Hyunjoon,” he nodded towards the boy in thanks. “I’ve timed this to thirty minutes exactly. Any longer than that and your consciousness might go under too. I’ll need all of you to hold out your left arms,” he instructed. 

Some of them rolled up their sleeves and held out their arms. “Will this hurt?” Sunwoo asked. 

“It might sting a little, but it’ll go away in seconds” Junhong assured him as he knelt down in front of Ino and held the syringe. He inserted the needle in his arm, and pressed down, injecting the contents into his body. He immediately did the same to the rest of them, some of them hissing at the stinging sensation they felt. 

“How do we get out?” Haknyeon asked him.

“You’ll be able to do that on your own. If not, Hyunjoon will get you to wake before the time is up” Junhong stood back up and looked at all of them and then at his watch. “In three seconds, you will start to feel rather drowsy,” he glanced at them again and saw that their eyes were starting to close. “Your thirty minutes starts...now.” 

In an instant, all of them collapsed and slumped into the seats as the darkness started to swirl all around their field of vision. Sunwoo instantly found himself in what looked like a deserted land that had glimmering, black earth on the ground with the sky tinged with hues of red, pink, and green, like the Northern Lights he remembered reading about. Everything else was dim and he could hardly see what was in the distance. 

Jinri suddenly appeared, followed by Jacob, and the two of them immediately held hands. Jongdae suddenly appeared as well, as did Haknyeon and Hyunjoon. Ino on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. “Whoa… we’re in the astral plane... “ Haknyeon bent down to touch the ground he was standing on. “Wait, are we in the astral plane?” he asked. 

Hyunjoon looked around. “Yes we are. We need to find Sangyeon around here. It’s much wider than you might think” he explained to them. “We’re in that space between fantasy and reality. Tread carefully” he advised to them. 

Ino had then appeared. “We don’t have much time, we need to start looking. Sangyeon?” He called out into the space. “Sangyeon? Are you there?” 

In an instant, walls and hedges started to form all around them like a maze. “Uh oh” Jinri stepped back, Jacob making sure to stand close to her as they were becoming separated from the crowd. 

Sunwoo froze in his place, as did Haknyeon, while they watched the walls build up around them with only one path. “Shout if you can hear us!” Sunwoo called out. There was no answer. He turned to Haknyeon. “We’ll have to find our way to the group.” 

Hyunjoon on the other hand, was alone where the walls started to form. Calmly and quietly, he made his way through the varying paths, but he stopped once he realized that he was in a garden. There was someone sitting still on the bench surrounded by flowers. He couldn’t recognize the person, but as he went closer he realized who it was. It was Sangyeon, or at least, someone who looked like him. 

“Sangyeon,” he said as he approached the bench. “Sangyeon,” he called again. There was no answer. “Sangyeon, that’s you, isn’t it?” Hyunjoon started to recite a soft incantation, and found himself getting pushed to the ground when the person suddenly transformed into a little boy, all black and white, with a big head and an angry face. The boy was also holding a knife. 

Hyunjoon raised a hand to recite another spell, and the little boy was unfazed. “Ut mihi revelare secreta custodire, et non erit somnus, in aeternam” he recited. The little boy transformed into Sangyeon again and ran. 

The flowers and the bench suddenly exploded, and Hyunjoon ran for cover to avoid the debris, and found himself inside a dark house. Looking out the window he saw trees, and a path, and a flight of stairs that led to a pavement. He was in the living room, with the front door right behind him. There were pictures on the walls, of a family, and a little boy with his beagle. “Sangyeon” he stared at the face of the little boy in the picture. He was in Sangyeon’s home. 

Hyunjoon crossed the threshold of the small dining room, and caught a glimpse of Sangyeon running up the stairs. He tried to catch up, only to find the little angry boy again. “Joowon the bad kid” he figured. 

Meanwhile, Jinri and Jacob found themselves in a hallway of a facility. It was dingy and empty. There were tables and couches gathering dust and the ceilings had cobwebs. “What is this place? Are we still in the maze?” Jinri asked him. 

Jacob approached a little booth right in the middle of the room and noticed that there was a small opening on the bottom of the glass window. He figured that it was a booth where people made transactions. “I don’t know, I don’t know where we are, but I have a feeling that Sangyeon hyung might be doing this,” he muttered, feeling the fear creep in and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. 

The chained doors started to move, making them step back. “How much longer do we have left? This is starting to freak me out” Jinri held onto Jacob’s arm, as they stared at the doors. The doors continued to rumble, and sounds of growling and grumbling voices were behind it. 

“I don’t know, I’m hoping that we get out of here before we do” Jacob held Jinri’s hand tightly as he scanned the area for another door. “This is like a nightmare” he spotted one that seemed to stay still. “Run” 

The two of them dashed for the single door, only to be met by a suited white blob that towered over them. Jacob and Jinri stared in horror and fled the other way, but the third door that seemed to be unguarded was soon being rattled. “There’s no way out” Jinri looked around. They were getting surrounded. 

Jacob turned to her. “Do your powers work in here?” he asked. 

Jinri paused. She turned to the big doors and held out her fist. A big plasma blast broke it open, and they were met by a crowd of deformed zombies. The white blob creature was also approaching them. Jinri held up her other fist and sent another plasma blast towards the crowd, which sent them flying across the room. She fired another one towards the blob but it only went through it. Jacob pulled her out and towards the unguarded door, using one of his wings as a sort of shield and they suddenly found themselves inside another hallway filled with red doors and wider windows. From the signs painted on the walls, they were in some kind of facility. 

Haknyeon and Sunwoo ran through the maze, looking for a sign of any of their colleagues. “Is there even a way for us to get through?”Haknyeon stopped and raised a hand, sending out colorful sparks in the sky. There was no sound, no kind of response. “Good to know that our powers work even in here” he said. 

That gave Sunwoo an idea. “I know a way for us to get through this place quicker. Hold my hand” he said, and Haknyeon followed. They started running through the walls until they reached the middle of the maze. But the middle soon turned into a desert. The sun was shining right above them, and there were cracks on the ground indicating that the land was dry. 

“When we get out of here, remind me to give Sangyeon hyung a noogie” Haknyeon said. “For an astral plane thing, this is very tiring” he added. 

“Why is he putting us through this?” Sunwoo looked around, a heavy gust of wind blew towards them, making it difficult to see. There wasn’t anything there. 

“I don’t think he’d put us through this exactly...maybe it’s whatever’s trying to take over his body. Maybe it’s the one getting us separated from each other and lost” Haknyeon shrugged. “But we have to keep going, maybe at one point we’ll be in another place” he said. 

As the two of them turned around, they saw a figure in the distance. “Sangyeon hyung?” Sunwoo squinted, and the two of them started walking. The figure didn’t answer. “Sangyeon?” he called again. No response. 

“Hyung?” Haknyeon called this time as they were getting closer and closer to him. They were a little past 7 feet away from him when the figure started to change into a little boy with a big head and an angry expression on his face. It was holding a knife in one hand. They skidded to a halt, and the boy changed into Sangyeon again, until it became a tall white blob of a creature with glowing yellow eyes and pointing a very thin finger towards both of them. 

“That’s not hyung, that’s what’s using him” Sunwoo muttered. “Where is he? Where’s Sangyeon?” he said boldly, using up the remaining ounce of confidence he had left. 

“Tick tock, goes the clock, Joowon the bad kid’s come to knock, tick tock goes the clock, Sangyeon is forever locked” the creature said in a very chilling voice. It started to growl, and a huge tidal wave suddenly appeared from behind it. 

Sunwoo and Haknyeon stared in horror and they started to run back as fast as they could towards the other end of the desert. “This is not happening” Haknyeon yelled as he ran for dear life, trying to catch up to Sunwoo, who was already sprinting a few meters ahead of him. They quickly climbed up the sand dunes, as the water was rushing towards them fast. 

They were soon cornered as another tidal wave came in from the other side. “No, no, no, we’re not going to drown” Sunwoo shook his head. But the wave was huge, and before he could grab Haknyeon’s arm-

Sunwoo’s eyes shot open and he sat up, gasping for air. He was back. He was in the lab. There was no body of water in sight, and they were dry. Junhong was outside, watching and monitoring them while looking at the monitors. Haknyeon sat up as well, and he was also gasping and coughing, as if he swallowed some water. The rest of them were still unconscious, and even if their minds, their consciousness was traveling through the astral plane, they felt a kind of tired feeling in their bones. 

“That was...that was…” Sunwoo tried to find the words to describe the experience. “That was close. I thought we were really going to die, until we woke up” he buried his face in his hands. 

Haknyeon sat back, closing his eyes and sighing as well, but he got up. Sangyeon was still lying on the chair, the modules still placed on his forehead. Jacob’s wings were starting to twitch from under him, like he could fly at any moment. 

“Both of you are awake ahead of schedule” Junhong suddenly said, from outside. Haknyeon hurried out of the lab and to where Junhong was. Sunwoo followed suit, looking at the monitors in front of the scientist. 

“How much time’s left? It felt like we were there for hours” Haknyeon asked. 

“I’d say about ten more minutes until the sedation wears off” Junhong looked at his watch. “You two saw something?” 

Sunwoo and Haknyeon exchanged looks. “We’ll explain when everyone’s awake” they said. 

~

Jongdae and Ino found themselves in a facility. The sirens were blaring and the place was bathed in red light. “Sangyeon’s mind is a maze” Ino said quietly, noticing every detail of the hallway they were in. The wide, heavily tinted windows were getting flashes of red, perhaps from the inside of the rooms. 

“Where do you think the others are?” Jongdae asked, stopping in front of a door with a passcode lock. He paused, then reached up, lightning and electricity suddenly coming from his hand and onto the lock. In moments, the door slid open, and the sound of loud chattering could be heard in the dark room. 

“Sangyeon? Sangyeon? Are you in here?” Ino suddenly called out, and the chattering grew louder. There was no answer. 

Jongdae felt around for a light switch. Ino stepped inside, and found himself bumping into a person. A single blue light suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, and they looked at who they bumped into in horror. It was Junhong, it was Jacob, Haknyeon, Jinri, Hyunjoon, it was all of them, or at least figures of them, standing in the room, their teeth all chattering loudly. “This-this isn’t real, is it?” Jongdae asked nervously. 

“No, no, it’s not real, Sangyeon’s mind is projecting this towards us. But how?” Ino looked around in confusion, trying to figure everything out. 

~ 

Jinri and Jacob ran down several flights of stairs, trying to get away from the zombies that were closely catching up. The staircases were too narrow for Jacob to spread his wings and at least float away, and Jinri could only use her powers to hold them off for so long. When the two of them set foot in the landing of what seemed like the basement, the surroundings changed once again, and they found themselves standing outside a house by the field. It was dark, and the only light was coming from a dim lantern outside the house. 

“This is so messed up” Jinri said, holding Jacob’s hand tightly as they walked towards the house. “Sangyeon has this much power to mess with our heads” she figured. 

Jacob nodded and as they arrived at the front door, he knocked once for good measure before opening the door. They stepped back in surprise, nearly falling over, as they saw Hyunjoon appear from behind the door. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Where were you? We’ve been looking all over” Jinri said. 

“I got just as lost as both of you have been” Hyunjoon replied. He led them inside the house. “Have you found the others? Sunwoo and Haknyeon already left the astral plane” he explained. 

“Sunwoo and Haknyeon? Which means only Jongdae, and Ino oppa are left in here with us” Jinri said. 

Hyunjoon nodded. “Sangyeon…” he looked up at the ceiling. “There’s something in Sangyeon that is incredibly dangerous if it gets a hold on his body” he said. “We don’t have much time even outside the astral plane” 

“Yeah, like putting us through these scenarios that can give us a heart attack if we’re not aware” Jinri added. 

“That’s only the half of it” Hyunjoon said. 

~ 

Jinri, Jacob, and Hyunjoon opened their eyes. They were also back in the lab. Sunwoo and Haknyeon were with Junhong. At the same time, Ino and Jongdae also woke up. They all glanced at each other, rather shaken with the events in the astral plane. Junhong, Sunwoo, and Haknyeon entered the lab once again. Sangyeon remained unconscious. 

“Time’s up” Junhong announced, looking at all of them. “What happened in the astral plane must have done a number on all of you” he said. 

“Like you wouldn’t believe” Jongdae shook his head. 

“So, was there any progress?” Junhong asked. 

They looked at each other. “Sangyeon...his mind, his powers, they’re a lot more powerful than he realizes” Ino revealed. “He was able to project scenarios, places, even people” 

Jongdae nodded. “Yeah. Ino hyung and I were at this place, I don’t know what it was, like a facility of some kind, and there was a door, and when we opened it, all of you, all of us,” he looked at his colleagues. “Were in there, and our teeth were chattering so loudly” he recalled. 

“Jake and I were in this other place, and there were zombies that were trying to get at us” Jinri explained. “We were in the maze one moment, and in this place the next, and then in front of this house, where we saw Hyunjoon” she said. 

They all glanced at him. “It was the same with me. I found Sangyeon, or who looked like him at least, at a park, but then he changed into that character he knows about, Joowon-” 

“The Bad Kid” Ino finished, staring at him as he explained. 

“Yeah,” Hyunjoon nodded. “Then things exploded and before I knew it, I was inside this house, Sangyeon’s childhood home, I think. I was following that kid, and then,” he sighed. “I think I saw the parasite, or what it was that’s trying to get a hold of him” he said. 

Sunwoo, Haknyeon, Jinri, and Jacob stared at him. “Was it that white blob man?” Haknyeon asked. 

“Yes.” 

“With the glowing yellow eyes?” Jacob said. 

“Yes.” 

“Jongdae and I saw it too. In the middle of the room, it appeared” Ino said. “It’s what’s haunting Sangyeon in his dreams.” 

“And now it appears that it’s locked Sangyeon’s consciousness up” Hyunjoon explained. “We don’t have a lot of time after all” he said to them. “If it gets full control of Sangyeon’s body, it will control his powers, and everyone, everything, on earth, and in this universe will be in danger” 

They stared at him. “Okay, lighten up” Jongdae told him. “We’re in big trouble.”


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the previous chapter got trippy, this one's about to get scary. Enjoy.

Hyuk stared at the front door of his apartment later that day, all ready to leave and all ready to lock up. It hadn’t been long since their ordeal with the Titans and the Utopian cult and here he was, on his way to carry out another mission, a bigger mission. It made him think about how Mirae viewed this whole thing. She was the most reluctant to get back into this kind of life, and he was starting to see why. 

He understood why she was hesitant, after everything she went through. He also knew that if she would back away from this, he would end up doing the same, because that was just how it was between the two of them. He regarded her as his best friend, just as she thought of him the same way. 

As he closed the door of his apartment and locked it up, he went down to the landlord’s unit and slipped his rent under the door with a note saying that in case something happens, Jiho will be making some arrangements. That was how close he was with Jiho as well. Jiho was like the brother he never had apart from being a good colleague at work.

He stepped out of the building and went into his car, that was now fixed after the damages done by some thugs in what seemed like a month ago now. His apartment still had some of the remnants of what happened that night as well. He would be picking Chanyeol and Mirae up, and sent both of them a text saying that he’s on his way before driving off. 

~

Chanyeol gave his parents and his sister a tight hug as he faced the front door of their home, holding his luggage in one hand. “It’s like sending you off to war,” his mother told him tearily. “Only not many people have to fight” she wiped her eyes. 

It made his heart ache a little. He never wanted to see his mother cry, even when she knew that it was for a good cause. “I’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine. This mission is bigger than all of us, it isn’t like what happened a month ago anymore” he tried to explain, but it made his mother cry even more. 

“Do good, son” His father then said, giving him another hug. “Save the world, save everyone. Be a hero. I’m so proud of you” he smiled, but Chanyeol knew he was also trying his hardest not to cry. 

His sister also started crying. “My little brother’s a superhero now” she said with a sniffle. “Promise us you’ll come back, alright? You have to be at my wedding, okay?” she added. 

“I promise.” Chanyeol nodded. He knew he had to. He wanted to come back. “I’ll be back. If anything happens, it might take a while but I’ll find my way back. Hyuk, Mirae, and I will be back” he added with certainty. 

A car suddenly pulled up in front of the home, and the window of the passenger seat rolled down and Hyuk peeked out to wave. The three of them waved back, as Hyuk got out to open the trunk of his car. “When the three of you come back, come have dinner or lunch or even breakfast with us at the restaurant. For you three, it’s free” His mother suddenly said, and Hyuk just smiled and bowed for good measure. 

“Is Mirae there?” Chanyeol peeked in the car again. 

Hyuk shook his head. “We’ll pick her up at Jaehwan’s. She’s having Jihoon stay there,” he said. “How long do you think we’ll be away?” he asked softly. 

The fire controller shrugged. “I don’t know. But we should go, it’s going to take a while to get to Iceland.” He replied. He said one last goodbye to his family before getting in, and he looked back at them as Hyuk drove off. 

~ 

Mirae gave Jihoon a very tight hug as she got up from the chair after some talking with Jaehwan, his parents, and his guardians Bom and Dongwook in the living room. “My card’s with you, so you have the money, you have the keys to the apartment, and tell Youngho to keep the store open as he’ll be the manager while I’m away, okay?” she told him. 

Jihoon frowned. “I want to go with you, though” he said. 

She shook her head. “You can’t, and I won’t let you. You have to go to school, study, and graduate. You got into a university already, don’t waste it” she pointed out. She glanced at them. “Thank you again for letting him stay with you while I’m away overseas” she bowed a low bow. 

They waved a hand dismissively. “It’s no problem at all, the more the merrier” Dongwook assured her, as did Jaehwan’s parents, who smiled at her. 

“I’ve already started to prepare Jihoon’s room too” Bom added, looking a little more excited than ever. 

It was Jaehwan’s turn to give her a big hug as well. “You sure you don’t want to join us, though?” she joked. 

“I’m sure. At least for now,” Jaehwan nodded. “When this is over, maybe the four of us will become our own gang again and we’ll be back to fighting street-level thugs” he chuckled, lightening the mood. 

Mirae smiled. “I’m on board for that. That’s where I’ll be headed anyway, I’ve realized a few things in the past few days I was in Summerland” she assured him. 

Jaehwan nodded. “I’ll take care of Jihoon if anything happens. I also know you’ll be back, I’ll track you down if I have to” he reminded her. 

“Yeah, I know you will. I care about you just as much, you know” she pulled away and patted his shoulder. Jaehwan smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you soon” she nodded as well, upon hearing a car pull up in front of their home. 

“That’s them” Jaehwan confirmed as the two of them let go. 

Mirae bowed again and waved before heading out the door. She saw Chanyeol and Hyuk standing in front of the car, both of them looking just as solemn as she was. Jaehwan peeked out as well to greet them. “How have you been? Jiho says you’re on track for your first single soon” Hyuk said to him. 

“Yeah, he’s helped me so much,” Jaehwan agreed. “But he’s also been busy signing on other people” he said. 

“Oh yeah, I heard about those. Two of them, Park Woojin and Lee Daehwi, I think. Are those their names?” Hyuk asked. 

“Not just them, my friend Doyoung also signed on when he found out I was in the company” Jaehwan chuckled. 

Chanyeol and Hyuk looked impressed. “There are more of us after all” the telekinetic nodded. “No wonder Jiho hasn’t answered my texts earlier. Oh well, I guess you’re all so preoccupied, that’s a good thing” he said. 

“Well, we’ll see you soon. It might take us days to get to Iceland” Chanyeol said, patting Jaehwan on the shoulder before getting in, while Hyuk helped Mirae put her bags in the backseat. They waved at him goodbye, catching Jihoon run out to do the same. 

Mirae sat back, quietly looking out the window. She was starting to feel that pang of nervousness that she got when she knows she’s about to do something with her powers. It was also partly because she couldn’t look at Jihoon any more. If she had, she may back out and decide never to go on something that needed her help. 

“Junhong’s waiting for us at Summerland. Everyone else is ready to leave” Hyuk suddenly spoke, breaking the silence that came over the three of them while he drove. 

“Oh good. At least by the time we arrive, we’ll be leaving” Chanyeol nodded. 

Silence fell over them again as Hyuk drove further and further out of the city. “I think we’re all thinking the same thing, aren’t we?” he broke the silence this time. 

“That this kind of thing isn’t for us?” Chanyeol asked. Hyuk and Mirae agreed. “That this is one more hurrah before we go back to our lives?” they agreed again. 

“Maybe we just need a break, like what Jaehwan is doing?” Mirae asked with a shrug. “We haven’t exactly given ourselves time to relax, no saving the world stuff, you know?” 

The two men nodded. “That might be what we need. For now, we should avoid de-psyching ourselves up for the battle ahead. We’re all getting homesick again and it’s normal, but we have to be strong,” Hyuk urged, driving into a forest, through an invisible barrier that he knew secured Summerland from the rest of the country and the world. “We’re also doing this for them. We also have some unfinished business with that Prometheus” he frowned at the thought. 

“Clearly he wanted to continue with their plan” Chanyeol said. “We sure didn’t see this coming.” 

He parked the car in front of the building and they got out. They saw Younghoon, Kevin, and Juyeon, already standing by to meet them. They were also packed and ready to leave. Younghoon in particular, smiled at Mirae, and Hyuk and Chanyeol grinned, glancing at her before taking their bags inside the building. “We’re all packed and ready to go” Kevin tried to lighten the mood when they entered. 

“I have to admit I’m nervous” Juyeon said quietly, looking at all of them. 

“It’s normal” Hyuk assured him. “It’ll wear off when the shooting starts” he said. 

“Then should we have brought Changmin along? He’s in the other group?” Kevin asked, suddenly alert. 

They shook their heads. “They need Changmin. We’re enough” Hyuk affirmed. He suddenly looked past them. “Sehun’s ready too, isn’t he?” he asked. 

“Yeah, he’s waiting for us. We should all go” Younghoon nodded, and altogether, they went down to the lower floor, where Sehun was waiting along with Junhong. They were standing in front of a giant metal door. 

Sehun patted Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Mirae’s shoulders and smiled. “Just like old times, right?” He said. 

“Yeah, and hopefully it won’t end with us scattered in all directions” Mirae quipped. She turned to Junhong, who looked a little tense. “You alright?” 

Junhong nodded. “Yeah, it’s just that I’ve never been this busy in a long time,” he chuckled. “Kevin, you know what to do, right? Pilot the ship?” he said, and Kevin nodded excitedly. “Alright then, well, good luck, all of you. We’ll constantly keep our lines open so you can contact us. In case of emergencies, contact Junmyeon’s group and they’ll bring the jet to take you out of there” he instructed, and they nodded. 

Junhong turned to the giant metal door turned the giant red knob on the side. The door swung open by itself, revealing a very long tunnel. They could suddenly feel and smell the sea air. “I hope you all packed some warm clothes, I hear it’s very cold there this time of year” he said. “There’s another door at the end of the tunnel, it’ll open up right inside the submarine. Kevin will explain the rest.” He finished. 

“Alright then, let’s go. We’ll be back” Hyuk nodded, and the seven of them started walking down the path. 

They could hear the door behind them closing the farther they went. Soon enough, the door closed completely, and they pressed forward until they felt the breeze getting stronger. “Sehun, this isn’t you, right?” Mirae asked. 

“I’m not doing anything” The wind-bender shook his head. 

“This tunnel’s pretty long” Juyeon muttered, trying to look at the end. 

Younghoon stood next to Mirae as they walked. “You okay? You look sad” he said quietly. 

Mirae just smiled. “It’s nothing. The usual feelings of anticipation when something big’s about to happen” she replied. 

“Stand by me then,” He grinned. “We’ll be nervous together” 

That made her snort as they walked. “How did you guys feel when you had to face off those alien thingies?” Kevin asked them, glancing back at them from time to time. 

Sehun, Chanyeol, Mirae, and Hyuk, looked at each other. “It’s terrifying when you do something like that for the first time,” Chanyeol said. “But the more you do it, the more you learn to suppress that feeling of fear and just do what you have to do” 

“We could have told you that if we were still practicing in the Danger Room, but with this, what better way to really practice than by going into a big mission?” Sehun added. 

“I think we can relax for a bit on the way there. You’ll give yourselves a heart attack if you’re constantly psyching yourself up” Mirae remarked, making them laugh. 

They stopped in front of another metal door with a giant knob. Kevin faced them for a moment and put his bag down. “Once clockwise, twice counter-clockwise. Okay, Junhong hyung and I worked on this ship for as long as I’ve been here, I haven’t seen the finishing touches that he put on the ship yet, but I can tell you that this is going to be big” he said excitedly as he turned the knob. 

The door opened and they saw not the usual pipe-lined entrance, but a space with white walls and marble floors. Small spot lights lit up what looked like a hallway with several rooms with doors that were painted orange. Kevin beamed at the sight, and stood aside to let them pass through first. 

They were all in awe as they loaded the ship one by one. “How big is this ship exactly?” Chanyeol looked at him curiously. 

“As big as the yacht Jay-Z got Beyonce, so pretty big” Kevin grinned, stepping inside after them. Once they all boarded, he pressed a button to seal the door. “Oh, and the features are also similar, but, and as I’m proud to say, even better with tweaks of my own.” he said. “These rooms you see here though are just the practice rooms for martial arts,” he glanced at Mirae. “Shooting, and communications, for Junhong to give us updates on the way,” he gestured to the doors. 

“So when you say this ship’s other features are similar to Jay-Z and Beyonce’s yacht, you mean-” Hyuk asked, and Kevin nodded, making his way to the front this time. “Even the sundeck and the swimming pool?” 

They stared at Hyuk. “I didn’t know you kept tabs on Jay-Z and Beyonce” Mirae teased. 

“I work in music, I need to keep tabs on everyone” Hyuk replied. “Who wouldn’t keep tabs on Jay-Z and Beyonce anyway?” 

“Well, there’s no pool or a sundeck, but there’s a library and one part upstairs with a bullet-proof, shock-proof, shark or big sea creature-attack glass roof and walls, so you can watch the fishes” Kevin said. “This submarine also has a mini-pod for individual trips” 

“How in the world did you and Junhong manage to make all this?” Younghoon asked in disbelief, while they followed him up the stairs to the second floor, where they saw another hallway that had a more open space at the end, which they figured was the dining and recreation area. 

Kevin shrugged. “It took nearly two years to make, if that’s what you’re saying. A lot can happen in those two years, like this whole thing of beauty” he stopped to hug the wall next to him. 

“So all this time,” Hyuk turned to Chanyeol and Mirae. “While we were off fighting the Utopian cult, Junhong’s been working on this thing? Without even telling us that Ino hyung is alive?” 

“He only went on board later on, to do some finishing touches, like the glass and other super special things,” Kevin pointed out. “Ino hyung and I built most of this” he said. 

“I feel a sense of pride, knowing my student is this good” Sehun joked, making them laugh. “Oh, so no wonder you kept asking me to dry some painted walls...it was for this one” he nodded, upon looking around.

Kevin led them down the hall. “There are twelve bedrooms, one of those rooms is the master bedroom which Ino hyung uses, and then what I call the VIP room, which is for anyone” he explained. 

“Good thing we’re not sharing rooms then” Mirae said, a little relieved. “I’d like to settle in” 

“I call shotgun! Ino hyung isn’t here, so you don’t mind if I use the master bedroom?” Sehun went ahead to the room with the label, and the rest of them scattered, Kevin immediately going to the helm to pilot the ship. 

In a matter of moments, the ship started to take off, and Kevin was slowly bringing them underwater. The rest of them left their rooms after settling in, watching Kevin pilot the ship and looking out the window at the view of the sea. 

“Is it just us in this ship? A little too big for just the seven of us, isn’t it?” Sehun asked. 

“Did you want a smaller submarine?” Chanyeol teased. “I figured that they made it this big so all of us could go” he said, looking at every detail. “But going back, is it really just the seven of us in here?” 

Kevin nodded. “Yep. Unless someone, maybe Eric, would have tagged along” He joked. He set the ship on autopilot and turned around to face them. “Well, I think we should just sit tight and relax for now. It might take us a day or two days at the most to get to Iceland” he suggested, and they agreed. 

“The conference is in three days, we might not make it in time given that we’re under the sea” Hyuk suddenly said. 

“Don’t worry, I can make this go faster” Sehun assured the older. “I only need Kevin to show me where I can put in more horsepower” he said, holding up his hand. A small wisp of wind appeared, which ended up turning into a little tornado. 

“You do that” Chanyeol said. 

“This must be tough to clean if no one else is taking care of it” Juyeon looked up at the ceilings and at the furniture. “I always thought ships like these came with a service crew” he shrugged. 

“Hate to break it to you, but it’s a self-service thing” Kevin replied, making them laugh.

“Alright then, I’ll be in my room if anyone needs me.” Mirae turned around and walked off, Younghoon quickly catching up to her on the way back. 

Hyuk looked at his phone and turned back to them, impressed. “There’s wifi and really good cellular reception” he held it up. 

~

Eric looked out the window. The sky was getting dark, and he zipped up his jacket. He stepped out, feeling the anxiousness sink into his stomach. He didn’t feel it at first when he found out where they would be going, but now it was starting to creep in. He wasn’t a particularly brave person, he figured he was just as brave as Sunwoo was, and that wasn’t saying much. 

He was excited, nervous, and afraid all at the same time. It made him wonder what he could do, what would happen when he comes face to face with whatever was waiting for them in that facility they were to investigate. 

He closed the door of his room behind him as he went down to the living space where the rest of them were to assemble. Somehow, with Kevin, Juyeon, and Younghoon gone along with Hyuk, Chanyeol, Sehun, and Mirae, things were a little quieter despite Jaehyun still around asking what they were doing in his usual loud voice. It was starting to feel a little empty too. 

He spotted Changmin sitting on the couch, playing with his favorite coin. The coin was passing between his fingers until it started going in all directions. He clutched his forehead when he felt the coin hit him. “Ouch!” he said. 

The coin instantly dropped to the floor and Changmin sat up. “Sorry!” he said. The coin instantly flew back towards him and he clutched it. “So, are you excited?” he asked. 

Eric took a deep breath. “I’m honestly not. What if something happens to us there?” he asked. 

Changmin could only shrug, and instead went back to playing with the coin in his hand. It started to float between his palms. Eric sat down and watched him. The coin then began to zoom in and around all of his fingers, until it stopped in front of his coffee cup. “I never really told anyone, but I met Mirae, Chanyeol, and Hyuk before they knew about this place” he said softly. 

The speedster raised a brow at him. “You have?” he asked. 

“Yeah. I was at this university event. I saw them being cornered by these thugs, and one of them held Mirae at gunpoint,” The coin was starting to spin above Changmin’s hand this time. “It was there that I realized that I could even stop bullets from entering” he added. 

Eric looked amazed. “You stopped a bullet?” 

“Yeah” Changmin nodded. “I didn’t think I could do it, I just thought that she’d die if that shot went through so I just...went for it, tried to stop it, and instead, I ended up killing the shooter” 

“You ended up killing them how?” 

“I kind of….rerouted the bullet, so it entered him instead of her. I don’t think it made much of a difference, really. They were still outnumbered” Changmin made the coin zoom past the small bouquet of flowers. 

“How did it feel? Doing that?” he asked. 

“It felt…” Changmin recalled that day. “It felt really strange, but in a good way…” The coin flew back onto his hand. 

“You didn’t wonder if they were the good guys or not, then?” 

Changmin shrugged. “I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but after listening to whatever they were saying, I knew they would be the good guys” 

Eric looked at him in awe. Jaehyun soon appeared, followed by Junmyeon, Hyejung, and Chanhee. They were all dressed and carried small backpacks. Changmin and Eric got up as well. “Time to go to the jet, it’s getting dark out. We should be fine by now” Junmyeon gestured for them to follow him. 

“Ino hyung isn’t really going to go with us, isn’t he?” Chanhee asked. 

Hyejung shook her head. “No, and he’s very occupied with their mission right now,” she glanced at Junmyeon while they walked. “I’m feeling the jitters again” 

Junmyeon gave her an assuring smile. “I think we all are. We should just get this over with so we’ll be back in time for dinner or a midnight snack” he opened the door that led to the hangar where they kept the jet. 

Junhong was already waiting for them, hurrying back and forth to open the hangar doors and check for any repairs at the same time. Eric quickly stepped up to help, pushing the doors back just in time. They noticed that he looked a little more tired. “You alright?” Hyejung asked him. 

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief in his pocket. “Yeah, yeah. Ino hyung and the other group are taking a break after a good session, Hyuk’s group left a few hours ago, and now it’s your turn to be sent off” he forced a smile, but they could all tell how he was really feeling. “I would have preferred all of you use this jet, but since the direction of the facility’s a long way off from their route to Iceland, two vehicles are better than one” he nodded. 

Junmyeon climbed up the stepladder and opened the door of the ship. It looked completely different from before. Instead of a brighter, lighter looking interior, it was now bathed in a mix of silver, grey, and black. It became more of a war plane than the usual jet, except that there were six seats that faced front instead of each other, and the controls looked a lot more sophisticated. 

Hyejung and the others followed, including Junhong, who went ahead to the pilot’s seat. “This feels rather military-like” she said, feeling the seatbelts on the rest of the seats. 

“We needed to find a way to accommodate everyone, so this was the only way to do it” Junhong replied, gesturing for her and Junmyeon to take their places in the pilot seats. “Fortunately, I have fixed the cloaking device, so the invisibility feature should be working now” he assured them, and Junmyeon gave a thumbs up as they looked at the controls.

“I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this” Junmyeon muttered, trying to remember how everything on the panels worked. 

Junhong and Hyejung nodded. “Expect the worst, and hope that we’ll all come out of this unscathed” she said. 

The water bender looked back at the four boys. “I’m just hoping they’ll be ready. Only Chanhee’s been able to practice, and he’s only practiced once” he said. 

“We’ve trained them enough, though,” Hyejung noted. “We’ve trained them to swim, Mirae’s the one in charge of pushing them into the deep end” she said. 

Junmyeon raised a brow at her and laughed. “Did you just make a water pun?” Hyejung laughed as well. 

Junhong on the other hand, rolled his eyes. “You two spend way too much time together” he said. “Can I tell you how to pilot this thing now?” 

At the back, Eric, Changmin, Jaehyun, and Chanhee continued to look around at every detail of the plane. “We’re really going on a big mission, a real mission!” The excitement was evident in Chanhee’s voice. 

“Yes, we know” the three of them said altogether, noticing the little skip in the shapeshifter’s step. “I’m surprised you’re still so excited given what you faced in the Danger Room” Jaehyun commented. 

“I am because this is another chance for me to get it right,” Chanhee explained. 

“It also means the stakes are high because we’re not in the Danger Room” Changmin pointed out. 

Chanhee nodded. “True, but at least now, as I know better, or a little better,” he glanced at all of them, including Hyejung and Junmyeon. “I will know what to do during practices” 

Jaehyun shrugged. “I still have to get the hang of suppressing the beams” he adjusted his glasses. He blinked a few times and slowly took them off. 

“Hey! Hey! Not yet!” They saw Junhong nearly sprint towards them, pushing the glasses back on Jaehyun’s eyes. “We haven’t taken off yet, wait a little before you can take those off, can you?” he said. 

“Sorry!” Jaehyun hurriedly put the glasses back on. “In my defense, I was able to control the beams with Hyuk earlier” he said. 

Junhong shook his head. “I’m not taking any chances, especially because I just redesigned this ship,” he turned to the rest of them. “Take your seats, fasten your seatbelts, and good luck, okay?” he patted each of them on the shoulders before getting off, the door closing shut behind him. 

“Come on, everyone, our destination is an hour away, onto this island,” Hyejung looked at the map. “Huh, Happydale Homes is on this island called Leap Island” she read out. 

The four boys hurried onto the seats and fastened their seatbelts, Jaehyun having a little trouble with his before successfully strapping in. They felt the engine rev up, and it wasn’t long before they were out of the hangar and into the air, Jaehyun and Chanhee cheering as they took off. 

“Do you think we’ll have a mission that needs us way up in outer space?” Eric suddenly asked, looking at the features closest to him in his seat. 

“Do you want to go up to outer space?” Chanhee looked over his shoulder. 

Eric shrugged. “It might be nice to. We get to go to the moon!” he said. 

“Or some distant planet” Jaehyun joked. “We’re going to a facility now, not some place in outer space, so that might not happen” 

Junmyeon just smiled. “You never really can tell, though. Maybe Ino hyung might ask us to go up there” 

That made the speedster think. “Would my powers work up there?” he muttered. 

Changmin laughed. “You go think about that” He looked at the controls nearest to his seat. There were several other buttons, and he took a closer look. “Did Junhong tell you which buttons are for what? I see some here near me” he asked the two mentors. That made Jaehyun, Eric, and Chanhee do the same in their seats. 

“He did, but I wasn’t paying much attention” Junmyeon grinned sheepishly at them. 

Hyejung laughed. “I think you all have your own screens, that can probably show the navigation, and maybe even where Hyuk’s group is at right now” she said. “The green button should be the one for the screen” she added. 

Jaehyun pressed the button, and immediately he saw the little screen next to his seat turn on, giving him a view of their navigation along with other details. A small keyboard also slid out from under the panel. “Wow” he looked amazed. 

There was a loud beep, and the main screen suddenly changed. It showed Junhong. “Hello, how are you all holding up?” he asked. 

They cheered upon answering. “We’re doing just fine. We’re on autopilot” Hyejung replied. 

“Yeah! And we’re trying to tinker with the rest of the buttons too” Junmyeon said, glancing at Jaehyun, who was clearly having fun. 

They laughed at Junhong’s slightly unamused expression. “Be careful. There’s a button that’s for ejector seats” he pointed out, making them freeze. “It would be a shame if one of you just fell out of the ship” he added, noticing their expressions. Jaehyun immediately kept his hands in his jacket pockets afterwards. 

Junhong suddenly laughed out loud. “I’m just kidding, but you should have seen the looks on your faces” he said, leaning away in laughter. 

“Hey, I know you’d really do that though” Junmyeon pointed out. “So, what’s up?” he asked. 

Junhong wiped his eyes and sat back up, clearing his throat. “I’ve been doing some checking on that island you’re about to set foot on, and I have to say, the facility’s bad enough” he said. 

“What do you mean?” Hyejung asked. 

“Well,” Junhong cringed. “It once served as the place where sick people were sent to, to keep the disease away from the rest of the mainland” he explained. “So, don’t be surprised if you come across skeletons or something like that” 

They all stared at him. “Yes, I was right, that place is totally haunted” Jaehyun nodded, while Chanhee cringed in his seat. 

Hyejung and Junmyeon exchanged looks, then looked back at Junhong. “Anything else we should know? I think we’re halfway there” she looked at the navigation. 

The radio suddenly turned on. “Unidentified aircraft. Please lower your altitude so we will escort you back to the aircraft base. You have ten seconds to comply” said a voice. 

“Uh oh” Changmin’s eyes widened. “We’re already in trouble” he said. 

“Yep, you guys are. Do something. I’ll talk to all of you later” Junhong said, and the screen went back to black. 

“Is that all Junhong can say? Jeez” Junmyeon said, looking at all the controls in panic. 

“You have five seconds to comply or we will fire” the voice on the radio said. “Please lower your altitude” 

Hyejung and Junmyeon scrambled on the panel. “We can’t lower our altitude, we have something to do” Eric said. 

Changmin stared at them and they heard a faint boom come from a distance. “They fired” he said. 

“I know” Junmyeon looked at the mirror. A missile was on its way towards them. “Hyejung, Hyejung, can you see it? Anyone? Can anyone try and stop it?” he asked them, panic evident in his voice. “If those missiles hit, we’ll have to use parachutes” he said. 

“I’d do something but we’re piloting the ship, remember?” Hyejung gripped the wheel tightly. 

Changmin and Jaehyun instantly removed their seatbelts and scrambled towards the front. “I don’t know if it can work, but I hope it would” Jaehyun muttered, running towards one of the windows at the back. “Changmin, we should do this from here” he gestured the younger to come over. 

“It’s catching up. If it explodes, it’s going to hit the tail!” Hyejung managed to go on manual pilot. 

“Better the tail than us!” Eric said, getting out of his seat to join Changmin, while Chanhee went to Jaehyun. 

Changmin slowly opened the window. “I have a better chance to get these missiles out of the way, I think.” he said. 

The cold air immediately hit his face. “When I say go, you go, alright?” Junmyeon called out to them. 

Eric looked out. The missile was fast approaching. Chanhee kept the lookout as well when Jaehyun also opened his window. He felt his heart pounding from nervousness at what he was about to do. He wasn’t even sure if he could do it. He knew Changmin had a better chance, but he still wanted to help, and it was enough. 

“Thirteen feet from the tail,” Junmyeon counted. “Ten feet from the tail, GO” he called out. 

Jaehyun removed his glasses and looked out at the missile. Thick beams of light immediately hit and the missile exploded, the parts of which ended up hitting the tail, shaking the jet and making them fall over. 

Changmin held onto the seatbelt. He was still having trouble with his own missile. “Come on, hyung. You can do it” Eric looked out. He tried to concentrate, moving the missile left and right. He noticed the plane that fired the missile coming forward. 

“I hope you’ve got a parachute” he muttered, and the missile hit the plane, with the pilot getting out just in time with a parachute as it exploded. 

Eric cheered, and so did Jaehyun and Chanhee. Junmyeon and Hyejung breathed a sigh of relief. They closed the windows and sat down on the seats, Changmin panting in particular and looking shaken. “You did it! You did it hyung! You did it!” Eric cheered him on. 

“I feel a little bad I had to make that pilot jump out of their plane” Changmin frowned a little. 

“You did what you had to do, we would have died if you didn’t do that” Chanhee assured him.

The metal-bender shrugged, sighed, and stood back up, following them back to their seats and putting their seatbelts back on. 

~ 

It was getting darker the farther they traveled. The four boys had dozed off. “No light in sight, huh?” Junmyeon looked out at the darkness before them. “Well, there’s some light, in that building, which I’m thinking is where we’re going…” he spotted the piece of land where the faint light was coming from. “Preparing for landing” he softly declared. 

The jet landed with a slight thud, waking them up. “We’re here” Chanhee sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning and taking the seatbelt off. 

As all of them got up, they faced each other. “I should tell all of you right now that whatever we might face in there, what you might have seen happen in the Danger Room is nothing compared to this.” Junmyeon warned them. They headed to the door and he pressed the red button to open it. 

They only had the moon as their main source of light, and as they were hit by the smell of ash and sand coming from the ground. Jaehyun squinted through his glasses. “My powers are anything but useful outside at night” he said. He shut his eyes and took the glasses off. 

After a moment, he slowly opened them, and the red glow that was always there from his optic beams started to disappear. “I did it!” he said excitedly, shaking the three other boys. 

“How convenient” Chanhee grinned, patting him on the back as they followed Hyejung and Junmyeon towards the facility. 

“Ouch!” Eric tripped, holding onto Changmin for a moment. He realized that he stepped over a gravestone, and it made him dash towards their two mentors as they approached the doors. 

“Happydale Homes is in anything but a happy place” Junmyeon read the signage on the threshold. They opened one door slowly and carefully, and stepped inside. Everything looked very clean for a supposedly abandoned place. The walls, the furniture, and the ceilings were free of cobwebs and dust. 

As the six of them entered, the door closed with a thud behind them. “Whoa” Chanhee stepped back, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. 

“Is it strange for me to assume some mad scientist is going to pop out of nowhere telling us that he’s been expecting us?” Eric whispered. 

“Hello?” Junmyeon called out the further they were inside. They approached the front desk and saw that the desk light was also turned on, and the notepad half-full of scribbles. 

“Hyunjoon should be here with us, he’s the only one from all of us who can sense things” Jaehyun muttered, walking towards the bench. “When we get back, we should try and clone him.” 

As he approached the bench, he noticed that the painting of a flower hanging right above it looked strange. It was covered in slashes, nearly shredding the entire piece, even the frame, downwards and onto the wall. Jaehyun bent down, following the large scratch that reached the floor. 

Changmin stood back and in the middle of the room. “Should we split up? We can cover more ground that way” he suggested, noticing what Jaehyun was doing. As he took a step forward, he felt something drop on the side of his face. He closed his eye to wipe off whatever got on him. It was a drop of blood. He looked up and saw a big puddle forming on the ceiling. “That wasn’t there when we came in, was it?” he muttered, nearly freezing in horror. 

Jaehyun let out a scream and a big optic blast emitted from his eyes. The wall he was staring at broke open and to their shock, a big shadow started pulling him by the leg into the wall. 

“HYUNG!” Eric yelled and the rest of them nearly sprinted towards him, holding onto his hands to try and pull him away. More blasts came from Jaehyun’s eyes as he tried to kick whatever was pulling his legs. 

A strong wave of energy came from the opening in the wall, sending the rest of them flying across the room and pulling Jaehyun entirely inside before closing up. 

They were all sprawled out on the floor on the other side of the room, Jaehyun’s screams echoing from within the walls and suddenly, all over the room. “He wasn’t lying when he said this place was probably haunted...and Junhong even confirmed it” Junmyeon groaned as he tried to get up, but let out a loud groan in pain as he clutched his left arm.

Hyejung got up and rushed over to him. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?” She asked. “Your arm?” 

“I think-I think it’s broken or something” he groaned, trying to sit up, being careful not to let his arm touch anything else. 

“Jaehyun’s captured, Junmyeon’s arm is broken, what else is in store for us in here?” Hyejung looked back up at the ceiling. It was suddenly quiet. 

Changmin got back up to his feet. “Something tells me we’re going to be here for a while” he helped Eric and Chanhee up. “I really think we need to split up now. If we want to save Jaehyun, we need to cover a lot of ground” he said. 

“I agree. As much as I hate it, I have to agree” Chanhee said. 

~ 

Mirae stood in front of a dummy inside the practice room of the ship. Taking a deep breath, she started attacking it with kicks and punches, the sounds echoing all over the room. She picked up her staff and attacked it again, this time doing the same to another dummy that was next to it. It wasn’t only until a few weeks ago that she found out how she knew what she knew, and the real reason why. 

She wanted to test herself, of her instincts when practicing. It wasn’t too long ago since she used her skills to really kill or incapacitate some people, but she felt like she was still rough around the edges. Mirae paused to take a drink of water from the cooler near the door, then went back for another round. 

She noticed the shelf that displayed various types of swords and daggers, from the rubber and plastic practice swords to the real thing. Mirae put her staff aside to take a closer look at the real ones. She closed her eyes, suddenly remembering bits of her life when she was being trained to handle them. 

“At the end of it all, it’s not what you wield, it’s what you are. You my dear, are the weapon” Said Miran. 

She sat down on the mat, facing the shelf as the memories started to bleed through. The intense training, the sparring, the time where her knuckles would bleed from making so much punches only to heal in seconds each time. All that pain, all the training made her to be what she was, and her powers only made her even more dangerous. 

“Mirae?” 

She looked up. It was Juyeon. “Hmm?” 

“I was going to say that we made dinner. Kevin developed those bars that when you put in the special microwave become big meals” He explained. 

Mirae got up and nodded. “Okay, I’ll eat after I’ve freshened up first” she said. 

Juyeon looked at her curiously. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just a little headache” she said. 

“Do you need medicine?” 

She shook her head. “No, no, it’ll be gone in a moment, it’s okay” 

He nodded and turned to leave until he paused, looking back at her. “I would just like to say, that I’m glad you’re here with us. I haven’t gotten to try the Danger Room, but to really do a real mission with you is an even better opportunity” he smiled. 

Mirae smiled a little back. “I have no doubts you’ll do well. You’re an advantage yourself” she said. 

Juyeon’s smile grew wider, and he turned to leave again, closing the door behind him. She picked up one of the katanas on display. Mirae ran her finger along the blade, causing her to bleed. She watched herself heal, with only the drop of blood left on her finger and the floor. 

She raised the katana up and felt someone grab her wrist. It was Younghoon. “Hey, don’t do that” he said, still gripping her wrist. 

“Do what? I was going to put this back up on the top display” she said, and Younghoon breathed a sigh of relief as he let go while she put the katana back in its place. 

He shook his head. “I thought you were going to purposely hurt yourself, that’s all…” he explained. 

“I wasn’t. Don’t worry about me” she said quietly. “If you came here to tell me about dinner, Juyeon already did” she added. 

Younghoon nodded. “Oh good, but I also wanted to see what you were up to, and now I see that you’ve been training” 

“Yeah, or else I’d get rusty fighting” Mirae smiled. “Plus, I also wanted to see how I knew all this. Sangyeon got rid of the trigger, and now the memories are starting to bleed through” she said. 

“It must be hard, having to live that way years ago” he said, following her as she left the room. 

“All those struggles brought out all this in me,” Mirae began. “It’s not something I’d want to talk about either so let’s talk about something else” she nudged him. “Like you, what was your life before Summerland?” 

Younghoon smiled and looked down. “Fairly normal, I have to say. Until the touch happened,” he explained, his gloved hands in his pockets. Mirae glanced at him with every step, listening. “I was with this girl, and we were hanging out in the living room of her place” 

“Ooh, a girlfriend?” Mirae asked, a slight grin on her face. Younghoon gave a shy smile in confirmation. 

“That was the day I thought of kissing her for the first time, but it was also the day my powers came. She fell into a coma, and knowing that I was the only other person around, her parents might start to suspect me, so I ran away” His expression dropped. “Grabbed some things, and on the road, and I was living on my own for a couple of years until Ino found me and took me in. Been here ever since” 

“Oh..” Mirae muttered. “What happened to your parents? I’m sure they must have looked for you” 

He shook his head. “Well, yeah, they did look for me, but they eventually gave up. Told them that I went off to work somewhere and that I’d be away most of the time” he said. 

She only nodded, opting not to prod anymore. The smile on his face returned, as if he was shaking off those memories. “I was going to shower first then eat, but if you’d like some company for dinner, we can eat together” she suggested. 

Younghoon’s smile turned into a grin. “Lee Mirae, are you asking me out?” 

Mirae snorted and playfully slapped his arm. “Fine, I’ll shower, go eat on your own” she walked off into her cabin and closed the door, shaking her head at him. He chuckled to himself as he walked back towards the dining area, feeling instantly happier after their conversation. 

Juyeon, Sehun, Hyuk, Kevin, and Chanyeol were already going through a few more bars of big cheeseburger meals. “I hope you didn’t eat any of my food” Younghoon reminded them as he sat down, pulling his plate of food towards him. 

“The fries go bad if you leave them out like that” Kevin pointed out, passing him another bar of a cheeseburger meal. 

“What do you think’s going on with the others? Like on their missions?” Sehun asked them as he bit into his burger while Chanyeol ate the rest of his own burger in one go. 

“I’m sure they’re having just as hard of a time as us, although I can’t say that right now, given then we’re in this fancy submarine” Hyuk looked around. 

“Mirae’s fries will get cold” Juyeon suddenly pointed out at the other untouched plate of food. “Should we eat it?” he glanced at all of them. 

“Well,” Younghoon looked at the hallway. “She told me she was going to take a shower before she ate,” and they nodded. “Like you said,” he glanced at Kevin. “The fries will go bad-” 

“Let’s split it” Hyuk finished, and Chanyeol reached for a knife to cut into everything.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting worse before it could get any better. Plus, we get some insight into Hwall's backstory.

Ino, Haknyeon, Jinri, Jongdae, Jacob, Sunwoo, and Hyunjoon quietly ate their dinner. They took a break from their time at the astral plane, and went over their next course of action. It was clear that the blob creature was intent on taking over Sangyeon, who was still unconscious. “We can’t stop now that we’ve started,” Jinri said. “Now that we’ve all had a glimpse of what’s in there, breaks won’t make it easier” 

“I agree,” Jacob nodded. “We have to do something, otherwise who knows what will happen next” 

The lights started to flicker, making them stop whatever they were doing. They soon heard a loud alarm and the lights went out, with only the red light coming from the outside shining on them. 

“No one else is in here except for us” Ino stood up to look outside. “That’s the emergency alarm, something’s breached the security” 

They all stood up. “You mean we’re compromised?” Jongdae asked. 

“Perhaps, I’ll go to Junhong, the rest of you stay here” and Ino teleported. 

“Is there even a way for us to check what’s going on?” Jongdae turned to Jinri. 

She shrugged. “I don’t know, Junhong’s the one who would, but Ino oppa’s already going to check on him.” 

Hyunjoon closed his eyes and muttered an incantation. The disk suddenly appeared next to them. “We’ll go down to the lab. Junhong is there with Ino hyung” he said, and gestured for them to step inside. With a wave of his hand, the disk transported them down to the lab, where, to their horror, they found Ino and Junhong splattered against the wall. Sangyeon was no longer inside the lab, and the monitors and machines were destroyed. 

Blood was dripping down from where Ino and Junhong’s bodies were splattered, forming a huge puddle on the floor. 

Jinri felt the tears fall down her eyes and she leaned on Jacob, stifling her sobs. Sunwoo tried not to gag at the sight of blood. “Oh my god…” Jacob muttered as they stared at the big splatter on the wall, the blood already coming near their feet. 

“Sangyeon isn’t here either” Haknyeon looked into the lab. 

“He’s got the place on lockdown, this isn’t good” Sunwoo said. “We really need to get back into that astral plane” 

“It’s safe to say that we’re not safe even in our own home” Jongdae looked into the lab. Everything was destroyed. 

“We can go into the astral plane, our bodies just need to be in a safe place” Hyunjoon looked at the entrance points of the floor. He went to each of the doors and waved his hands in a circular motion. A transparent veil was slowly forming in front of the elevator doors. He then did the same to the staircase and the fire exit. “This should at least protect our bodies from whatever Sangyeon might throw at us while our consciousnesses are in the astral plane” he said, looking around. 

The ground started to shake, and Sunwoo fell over, accidentally phasing through the floor and towards the floor below. “Sunwoo!” Jacob yelled. 

“We’re done for!” Haknyeon panicked. 

A disk appeared under Hyunjoon’s feet and he suddenly disappeared, only to reappear moments later with Sunwoo, who looked especially terrified. “Thank god we have you around” Jongdae breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Lie down everyone” Hyunjoon then instructed them. “Nothing can get to us while we’re in here” he assured them, as they did what he told them to do, while lying down himself as well. 

Jacob held Jinri’s hand tightly as they lay down next to each other. Sunwoo, Jongdae, and Haknyeon did the same, with Hyunjoon at the end. “Everyone, calm down, we’ll get Sangyeon back, and take down whatever’s using him at the moment” Jongdae assured them as well. 

Just then, Sangyeon appeared. Hyunjoon was quick to place a hex on him, making him back away. Haknyeon also attacked, sparks flying out of his hands to keep him back, as did Jongdae and Jinri. “You’re not part of the group, whoever you are. You have Sangyeon’s body, you have to give it back” Jinri said. 

Sangyeon tilted his head and smirked. “You think you can destroy me? Breaker of worlds, killer of gods?” a chilling voice came out of him. “Look what happened to your precious guardians,” he gestured to Ino and Junhong’s bodies on the wall. “Sangyeon is destined to be great, I am helping him fulfill his destiny” 

“Chaos? Becoming a supreme ruler? That’s not what Sangyeon hyung would want” Hyunjoon fired a hex again, and Sangyeon stumbled to the floor. 

“Tick tock, goes the clock, Sangyeon will be forever locked” The telepath started chanting. “It would be a shame if your friends suffer the same fate as your guardians” 

Jongdae’s eyes widened. “You were behind all this all along, you sent them off on different missions, you wanted to break us up” he realized. 

Sangyeon chuckled, grinning proudly. The rest of them caught on with what Jongdae said. “You have to admit,” Hyunjoon spoke. “You know that we’re the only ones standing in your way for you to carry out your plans” 

“Unfortunately so,” Sangyeon grumbled. “But your division makes it oh-so-easy to take you out of the picture” He held up a hand and got rid of the shields on the doors. The shields started to shatter. 

“Not if we can help it” Jinri clenched her fists. 

He let out a loud, evil laugh. “I’d like to see you try.”

Hyunjoon attacked him with another hex. “You keep using Sangyeon’s body and I’ll have to go in there and find you myself” 

Sangyeon smiled. “I knew you were always capable, Hyunjoon-ah,” he said. “Give me your best shot, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll leave” 

“Alright,” The younger nodded. “If I get to you, and believe me I will, you give Sangyeon back his body. If I have to, I’ll see you in hell” 

Their surroundings suddenly shifted, and they found themselves back in the maze. Jongdae noticed the way the floor and the sky looked. They were back in the astral plane, and their bodies remained in Summerland. “I’m really hoping he doesn’t do anything to us out there   
while we’re in here” 

“Don’t worry, he won’t. I’ll know if he tries” Hyunjoon led the way, all of them sticking together as they found their way through. 

They skidded to a halt when they found, in the middle of the maze, a tall ladder that led up to what looked like a giant ice cube. A cold breeze soon swept in, making them shiver, with Jacob even shaking his wings from the cold. “What’s up there? Is Sangyeon up there?” Jinri asked. 

“I guess we’ll have to find that out, won’t we?” Jongdae took the lead this time, as the rest of them climbed up the ladder while Jacob started to fly up towards the entrance. He continued to climb until the panel above them opened, and he climbed inside. 

As they had expected, it was just as cold. The inside of the ice cube had ice furniture all covered in an assortment of fur. There was also a fake fireplace at the end of the room, wind blowing up strips of orange and red paper surrounded by red and orange lights. They all gaped at the sight of everything. On the other end of the room, was an ice desk, and had books stacked by size on one side. Behind the desk was Ino. 

“INO” They all went up to him. 

“It took you all long enough” Ino smiled, standing up to greet them. “Time flies very fast when you’re in the astral plane” he added. 

“But-but how? You were splattered on the wall? With Junhong?” Jinri was in disbelief. 

Ino nodded. “I know, Sangyeon got up and started attacking us,” he pointed to a television made out of ice, which showed them what happened. “Fortunately, I managed to keep my consciousness in here. My body will put itself back together, don’t worry” he assured them. 

“What about Junhong?” Jongdae asked quietly, although he had a feeling he knew the answer to the question. 

Ino smiled a soft smile. “He’s lost. I helped bring his consciousness in here, but it seems like the maze has him lost” he answered. He gestured them to sit down on the couch. “For now, we’re safe. This ice cube is in my consciousness, the parasite won’t be able to get to us in here” 

“I struck a deal with him,” Hyunjoon then said. “He challenged me, to hit him with my best shot and he said he might just leave if I succeed, and I do plan to succeed” 

“He even said he’ll see him in hell if he tries anything” Haknyeon pointed out. 

Ino looked worried. “Can you really be able to do that?” he asked. “Something might happen to you” 

Hyunjoon nodded. “I’ve been through hell and back, I’ve destroyed dimensions once before, I can certainly have him fight me on my turf” he said. 

Sunwoo and Haknyeon stared at him. “Whoa, you were so cool just now” Sunwoo said. 

“You never really told me what’s going on with you and your life, though” Jacob said to him. 

“It’s not important” Hyunjoon replied flatly. “So, what do we do?” he shifted back to the topic. 

Ino took a breath and nodded. “Right, well, while I was here, I was able to sort through a published version of Sangyeon’s memories,” he gestured to the books on the desk. “Now, taking a look through his parents’ memories, I remember what Hyunjoon said, about Sangyeon having a dog when he was a child,” he started pacing back and forth while they listened. He suddenly stopped. “He never had a dog.” 

“What does the dog have to do with what we’re going to do?” Jacob was confused. 

Ino smiled. “The parasite took the form of a dog in the altered version of Sangyeon’s memories as a child. With that in mind, it’s safe to conclude that-” 

“The parasite’s been feeding on Sangyeon since the day he was born?” Sunwoo asked, and Ino nodded. 

“That story his father would supposedly tell him? Joowon the Bad Kid? There was never a story like it. His father read to him The Little Prince” Ino explained. 

“So Joowon is the name of the parasite, isn’t it?” Haknyeon asked. 

Ino shook his head. “The parasite, actually goes by the name of Abbadon” 

Hyunjoon stared at Ino. “No wonder he said he knew I was capable.” He muttered. 

“Why? You know him?” Jongdae asked. 

He nodded. “Old mentor. Taught me everything I know” 

Ino gave him a look that meant he needed to explain. “How did he teach you this? Did he possess someone’s body too?” Jacob asked. 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “He didn’t have to. He appeared to me as a child, knew that I was a mutant and took me away from my parents for years,” he began, as the rest of them started to listen. “He took me to Limbo, and decided that it was best to train me in the dark arts at a very young age, along with Samael” he explained. 

“By the time I reached thirteen, I could already perform every trick in the book. However, as I got older, I became more curious about the other kinds of magic that existed, so I started to learn the light arts. Abbadon found out, and we dueled,” 

“Duel?” Haknyeon asked. “Like the Harry Potter kind of duel?” 

“You could say that,” Hyunjoon nodded. “No wands, though. I defeated him, banished him from Limbo, and I ultimately destroyed the place.” He finished. 

“So, Limbo doesn’t exist anymore, is that what you’re saying?” Jongdae asked. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he nodded. “I’m not particularly proud of my time there, but I know better than to use my powers for evil.” 

They nodded in understanding. “So, Hyunjoon’s old mentor is still bitter that he got banished from Limbo that he’s decided to take it out on all of us, am I right?” Jinri asked. They agreed. “My eyes are opened” she sighed, glancing at her boyfriend and holding his hand. 

“What about Samael? What happened to them?” Jacob asked. 

Hyunjoon sighed as he tried to recall everything. “He left long before I started learning the other forms. It is believed that he decided to stay in the cold depths of hell, having gotten tired of Abbadon’s methods of teaching.” 

Sunwoo shuddered in his seat. “We’re not going to hell when we try and save Sangyeon hyung, right? Please tell me we’re not” 

“It’s too early to tell. Right now he has Sangyeon’s body and control of his powers, but he has to respect the deal Hyunjoon made with him,” Ino said. “The ball’s in our court. We only need to find Sangyeon, his real consciousness, and bring him back” 

“We should be prepared too. I don’t think Abbadon would simply let us find him” Hyunjoon explained. “There’s also Sangyeon’s powers being able to work in this space.”

“It’s settled then, we’ll just have to stick together” Ino agreed, and they got up, climbing down the ladder once again and back into the maze. 

~ 

Sangyeon pounded his fists on the lid of the coffin he was placed in. “Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!!” he yelled, trying to break through the wood, but to no avail. “Let me out of here! You can’t do this to me!! You can’t take my body away from me!!” he yelled some more, but it felt like screaming into nothing. 

He could only wonder what that creature was making him do out in the real world, but at the same time, he didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to add the creature’s misdeeds onto his conscience. Being trapped inside the coffin in the astral plane was the last place he wanted to be. It was clear that he was their mission, and he originally thought that he would also have a hand in trying to find himself, and finding what was wrong. Something was wrong, and any chance he had of trying to fix it seemed to be crushed. 

“Let me out!!!” He yelled, pounding the wood that covered him as hard as he could. “This is my body!!! Not yours!!!” 

“Hey, hey you” 

Sangyeon stopped. He saw himself lying next to him inside. “Wait, you’re-” 

“You, yes I am. I’m you, your rational mind” he said. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m trying to get out of here. Do you mind helping me?” Sangyeon asked. 

“I am helping you. I’m helping you realize that you’re not thinking clearly,” he said. “Where are we?” 

“In here?” Sangyeon replied, but his other self shook his head. “We’re in the astral plane” 

“Close, but not quite the answer I’m looking for. We’re in your head, you can do anything when you’re in your head” he said. 

Sangyeon looked confused. “What do you mean I could do anything?” 

He rolled his eyes. “Do I have to do some explaining? You should have figured it out by now. You’re not really in a coffin, you’re not really trapped, which means…?” he gave Sangyeon a look. 

“Which means I can get myself out of here” Sangyeon said. 

“Exactly! You also have to keep in mind that your friends are already in here looking for you” he said. 

“I need to find them too” Sangyeon nodded. “Alright, but I need to think of how I can get myself to them” 

“Go on then, get yourself out of this coffin you’ve built and come up with a plan” 

Sangyeon nodded and closed his eyes. He soon found himself standing in an empty classroom. “Where is this place?” he looked around. 

“Well you must know, you thought of it,” his other self was sitting at the very back, his feet up on the seat in front of him. “Alright then, why don’t we recap what’s happened to you so far, hmm?” 

Sangyeon nodded and picked up the silver marker and began to write on the blackboard. “Okay, so a few months ago, things were getting weird for me,” he began to draw and write the details on the board. “A few weeks ago, I saved Mirae and the rest of them from the explosion at their Center,” he wrote it down.

“But I was having dreams, dreams of that creature, that would turn into Joowon the Bad Kid,” he wrote it down. 

“And what would Joowon do?” 

Sangyeon sighed as he tried to think. “He would haunt me” he said quietly. “He would,” he tried to write down what he thought and instead ended up drawing. “He would fill my head with bad dreams, dreams that the world was going to end, that the sky was falling,” he frowned the more he remembered. 

“Why do you think he picked you? Of all the mutants in the world, why you?” 

The telepath paused. “Because,” he began, his other self leaning forward in anticipation of his answer. “Because my powers can do it…” he realized. “He doesn’t really want me, he wants my abilities” 

“Good, now you’re getting somewhere. What do you think Joowon intends to do with your powers?” 

Sangyeon turned back to the blackboard. “He wants me to destroy the world. He wants to use me to bring all this, this destruction, kill so many innocent people” he was getting flustered. The thought of having to do that regardless of his awareness or not, made his heart ache. “He wants me to bring on the apocalypse or something.” 

“Good, very good, keep going” his other self told him. 

He paused to take a deep breath. “What I need to do is to challenge him, whatever form he takes. They won’t be able to win against him” he said. 

“Hyunjoon might help you out, so will Ino hyung” his other self pointed out. 

Sangyeon nodded. He knew they would help him out. They were the only other people capable of doing it. Ino was undoubtedly more powerful, and Hyunjoon could do so much. Haknyeon, Jongdae, Jinri, Jacob, and Sunwoo could also help him quite a bit too. They were an unstoppable group by most people’s standards. He just wasn’t sure if they could really overcome this challenge.

“Okay, Hyunjoon may already be trying to fight the thing, the others may be focused on finding me. What I need to do is…” he trailed off. 

“Is?” 

Sangyeon turned to his other self. “Fight too. I’ll find them. That’s the way for me to find the thing. If I can get to them, we’ll be able to stop him.” 

“Excellent. Now, what are you going to do?” 

“I’m going to get my body back, before I cause enough damage to probably wipe out the world, no snapping of fingers” Sangyeon explained. 

He closed his eyes, and he suddenly found himself inside a dark house. His childhood home. Sangyeon looked around. “Come out, come out, wherever you are” he taunted, keeping his steps quiet as he passed through each room. He didn’t have time to stop and look at the memories of his past. “Come on, you can’t hide from me, you have all the control, remember?” he called out. 

Sangyeon went into his parents’ bedroom, and towards the other door leading to the bathroom only to be led into the hallway again. He tried his own bedroom and the door leading to his bathroom only to be led down the same hallway he started. He tried the rest of the rooms, but to no avail. It was like he was being led in circles. “Okay, now I’m starting to get annoyed” he grumbled. 

He stood in the middle of the hallway. If he couldn’t catch him in one room, he may as well check everything at once. Sangyeon closed his eyes and held up his hands. Every door was starting to rattle in front of him. The telepath tried to concentrate as hard as he could. He needed to get to the creature first before any of his friends get hurt. The doors began to rattle louder, opening and closing loudly. The lights of the house also started to flicker and the surrounding furniture began to shake and tremble, as if a tremor hit. 

“Come on, come on” he muttered in frustration, and the shaking and trembling grew louder. Glasses and vases were shattering, the framed photos were falling to the ground. Every door of the rooms burst open at once, and a flurry of objects shot out as if explosives were planted in each one. 

There was no sign of the creature. Sangyeon kicked the table down, yelling into the void. “Come on, I know you’re enjoying yourself here, you can at least show yourself to me” he said. He looked through every room again. “If you’re not here, maybe you’re somewhere else” He closed his eyes. 

In moments, he found himself out on a city street. There was not a single car in sight, and everything seemed deserted. Sangyeon began to walk, looking at the windows for a sign of the creature. “I’m really tired of talking to myself, you know” he called out, looking up at the sky and then down at the ground. 

“Alright, have it your way” Sangyeon closed his eyes again, and this time he needed to concentrate really hard. A loud vibration hit, and all the glass windows and the building doors burst open. Glass and debris were flying everywhere but weren’t hitting him. Sangyeon closed his hands into fists, and all the flying glass and scraps suddenly dissolved into nothing. 

~ 

The group had split up. Eric zoomed past each and every room for a sign of Jaehyun, hopefully alive and uninjured. Hyejung and Junmyeon were searching outside and the ground floor while Chanhee and Changmin took the two upper floors of the sanitarium. The more Eric searched the place, the more he noticed how eerie everything seemed to be. But he had to be strong, he had to be brave. He had to remind himself that he isn’t an ordinary human being. He could use his speed to his advantage and he kept reminding himself that as he zoomed past Changmin on the second floor. 

Changmin searched through each room carefully. He didn’t want to destroy anything for fear that he might be next on whatever pulled Jaehyun within the walls of the place. He looked through empty sleeping quarters, and then stopped at a room where he realized was the electroshock treatment ward. There was something covered in a huge blanket on what would be the seat. Something had all the needles and tubes connected to it. 

His heart started pounding, almost loud enough for him to hear as he approached the covered lump on the chair. The metal parts of the tubes started to shake, and so did some of the steel medical supplies. Changmin stood still and the shaking stopped. He started to approach the covered lump again, his hands curled into fists in an attempt to keep his powers from manifesting. 

Letting go of one hand, the metal parts of the tubes connected to the lump came away, and to his horror, he saw fresh blood on each of the needles. Changmin pulled the sheet down and saw Jaehyun, gagged and bound to the chair, burn marks on his temples where the modules were. There was blood on the corners of his mouth and his sleeves were spotted with blood. “Hyung” he went closer, holding two fingers to check for a pulse. 

Jaehyun suddenly woke and grabbed his neck. His eyes were glowing red, as if on the verge of firing a blast straight at him. Changmin gagged and tried to get away, but Jaehyun seemed to be too strong, unyielding to whatever he did to defend himself. “Hyung, hyung, it’s me” he sputtered, but it seemed like Jaehyun wouldn’t hear him. 

His grip tightened, and Changmin was pinned to the wall. The supplies and everything started to shake. “I-I’m sorry” he choked, and a metal trash can hit the older’s head hard, effectively letting go of him, but only for a moment. Changmin ducked in time when a strong optic blast came from Jaehyun. 

He tried to shield himself, sending a metal sheet from the roof in front of him, only to be broken through. “What’s gotten into you?” He gagged, trying to dodge Jaehyun’s optic blasts with as many metal objects as he could get. “Hyung! It’s me!” Changmin pushed Jaehyun back using the chair, pinning him against the window. 

“What’s going on? I heard a noise!” Chanhee suddenly came running and stopped when he saw Jaehyun being pinned back, the red glow in his eyes from the optic beams still there but suppressed. “What are you doing?!” He gave Changmin a look. 

“He attacked me! He’s not in his right mind!” Changmin explained. “He didn’t even know who I was” he kept his focus on the chair pinning Jaehyun against the window. “Something’s come over him and I don’t even know what it is” 

Chanhee stared at the way Jaehyun was trying to free himself. The glass behind him was starting to crack. He realized what Changmin meant. He went up to Jaehyun, picked up the lid of a canister and hit him really hard on the head, knocking him out. He turned back to the metal bender, the chair loosening up and letting their colleague fall to the floor. “You couldn’t do that instead?” 

“Hey, I tried, it didn’t work, or I must not have hit him hard enough” Changmin argued. 

The two of them picked Jaehyun up and brought him out of the room, skidding to a halt when they saw half of the hallway covered in total darkness. Chanhee let out a pained sigh. “Why does this get so messed up?” he muttered. 

The darkness began to seep towards their feet. The two of them backed away, holding Jaehyun up and pulling him back inside the room. “We’re cornered, this shadow doesn’t look like a regular shadow, at all” Changmin muttered, closing the door and fixing the chair towards it. 

Chanhee pulled away from Jaehyun and looked out the window. Hyejung and Junmyeon were nowhere to be seen. It was too dark to even see anything. 

“Hello? Is anyone there?” A voice said from behind the door. 

The two of them exchanged looks of confusion, then looked back at the door, unable to answer yet. There was a knock. 

“Please let me in, the three of you must be tired” the voice said. 

“How did they know?” Changmin mouthed to Chanhee, who shrugged, but still looked incredibly scared. “Sorry,” he moved the chair to the side and opened the door. It was a woman, whom they figured was a doctor. “Who are you?” 

“I’m Dr. Han Seungyeon, who may I ask are you three?” She asked. “I run Happydale Homes. I must apologize for the manner in which you saw this place” she gestured to the hallway. There was no shadow to be seen.

Changmin and Chanhee exchanged looks. “You run this place? It seems pretty abandoned to us” they said. 

“Well, my staff are on their days off, and the cleaning crew haven’t arrived today, so excuse the webs” She gestured to the ceiling. “Oh,” she noticed Chanhee. “You’re…”

“Blue? I know” Chanhee nodded hurriedly. He immediately transformed into himself, only with lighter skin that seemed to make him look incredibly pale. “Better?”

Changmin nodded, while Dr. Han looked very intrigued at his transformation. “Well, if blue’s your color, then you stay blue. Fascinating, very fascinating. You’re a mutant” she said. 

“I am, so are the two of them” Chanhee gestured to Changmin and Jaehyun, who was still unconscious. 

Dr. Han looked back at their unconscious colleague. “What happened to him?” she asked. 

“He got knocked out. Tried to attack me, Chanhee got to him,” Changmin explained. “This place is something” 

“Something? Oh oh yes,” Dr. Han nodded knowingly. “This place is said to be haunted, I know. Things like shadows and spirits haunting people out of here. Bad for business, but there’s the peace and quiet” she said, staring at Jaehyun, and taking out what looked like a pen light to check his eyes, only to be stopped by Chanhee. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said. “He’s got,” he glanced at Changmin. “Laser vision. If he opens his eyes, you’d die” 

“Is it true then? That this place is haunted?” Changmin suddenly felt an uncomfortable lurch in his gut. There was something strange about the doctor and he was beginning to feel wary. 

“It depends. Do you believe in ghosts?” Dr. Han asked, staring at him this time. 

Changmin swallowed hard. “Yes I do” he answered. He glanced at Chanhee and then at Jaehyun. “Well, if you’re going back to work or something, maybe we should leave you to it” he said. He gestured Chanhee to sling Jaehyun’s other arm over his shoulder. “We were just here to pay a visit, sightsee and all” he chuckled nervously as they brought their colleague out of the office. 

“Why leave right away? I was enjoying the company?” Dr. Han stopped them. 

“Well, we still need to..”Changmin glanced at Chanhee, hoping that he’d add on. 

“We still need to do stuff. Be back in time for dinner, all that” Chanhee managed to say. 

Dr. Han smiled, watching them leave. The door suddenly closed behind them and Changmin and Chanhee breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s giving me the creeps” the metal-bender muttered. 

“Did you see the way she was looking at us earlier? If I didn’t know better, I think she’s a ghost” Chanhee said quietly. 

“The conversation was weird..” Changmin said. 

Before they knew it, everything was dark. Jaehyun started to stir and his eyes fluttered open and a huge optic blast came into view. The three of them yelled in fear, but their screams were soon stifled when they noticed that the darkness seemed to have absorbed the beams. Jaehyun shut his eyes again and held onto Changmin and Chanhee’s shoulders as they tried to pass through. 

“What’s happening?” Jaehyun whispered as they made their way through. 

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, I don’t think it’s good” Changmin whispered back, trying to feel around. 

A very low, spine-tingling growl suddenly erupted, and the three of them yelled again, standing back to back from each other. A sharp gust of cold wind went by them, and Jaehyun could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, so did Chanhee and Changmin, who were equally becoming terrified. 

They could suddenly feel a tingle on their hands and exposed skin. Jaehyun touched his face upon feeling the sensation. It began to sting and the further they walked, trying to reach the light, the more he realized what it was. 

Blood. His own blood. His hands were getting scratched up as well, and he felt the other side of his cheek sting. “What is this?” he panicked, looking at the blood on his hands. Jaehyun glanced at Changmin and Chanhee. The shapeshifter looked fine, but had a few drops of blood here and there, while Changmin had scratches on his face as well. “Something’s in the shadow just now, it’s starting to hurt” he said, feeling the sting getting more and more intense. 

They heard the growl once more and started to run down the staircase. 

~ 

Hyejung and Junmyeon stepped outside. They had to stop their search to treat Junmyeon’s broken arm, fixing him up with a sling. Unable to see through the darkness, they took out the flashlights they got from the jet to look around. “This is not how I thought things would start, but here we are,” Junmyeon said as they walked. 

Hyejung linked their arms together. “Things started just like this last year, we never really thought we’d end up in this kind of situation” she assured him. 

Junmyeon smiled. “I’m just glad when Ino hyung found me, he found most of us old folks” he said. “It makes things a little more comfortable in Summerland, but I have to admit this can be so surreal still” 

She nodded. “We never expected to be in this kind of situation in the first place, being superheroes and all that” 

“Are we even superheroes? We’re still doing all this secretly” Junmyeon chuckled. 

Hyejung shrugged. “I’m guessing if we all made ourselves public, we’d either get shunned like what happened before, or they might support us, maybe a little too much” she said. 

Junmyeon held her hand, making her stare at him. “Maybe the first one. Anonymity has its upsides. Being publicly thanked and congratulated might get to our heads” he said. 

They suddenly looked up upon hearing the screams and noticed the lights were starting to flicker from the third floor. “Do you think Jaehyun’s alright?” Hyejung asked him. 

“I can’t really say. I’m hoping he is” Junmyeon replied as the two of them turned to go back inside. However the doors seemed to lock itself, trapping them out of the place. “Hey, hey” he pounded his fist on the door. “Hey! We’re locked out!” he jiggled the doorknob but to no avail. The windows seemed to bar itself, securing everything. 

Hyejung’s expression fell as she dropped her flashlight to try and open the door. She stood back to open a portal for the two of them, thinking of whatever place she figured was inside the center. What was on the other side of the portal looked like a boiler room, with a giant round device, big enough to fit a person, in the middle. They glanced at each other. “Fingers crossed that we’re inside” she said. Grabbing Junmyeon’s other hand, they stepped inside, the portal closing right away behind them. 

“Good to know your portals work, I was beginning to think this place had some sort of power-neutralizing thing” Junmyeon looked around for a switch. “Aha” he flipped the switch, and the sole light in the middle of the ceiling turned on, further illuminating the round chamber in front of them. 

Hyejung went to what looked like the door of the chamber. “Maybe Jaehyun’s in here,” she turned the round knob to open it. The door opened and the strong smell of dust and metal filled the air, making her cough. The two of them peeked into the darkness inside for a sign of their colleague. Before they knew it, they stumbled inside, the door closing shut behind them and lighting up the chamber. Some carnival music started to play and a zoetrope animation surrounded them, playing on the walls. 

Junmyeon and Hyejung pounded on the door. “We’re stuck! This is locked from the outside!” Hyejung tried to push open the door, but to no avail. She found herself looking at the animation playing around them. A dizzying, weakening feeling began to come over her, and the more she looked, the weaker she felt. Her knees began to buckle and she slinked down to the floor.

The water-controller then covered her eyes and shut his own. “What pulled Jaehyun inside is trying to weaken us too, we can’t keep looking!” he said, pulling her close. Junmyeon was beginning to feel that dizzying feeling as well. He fell to his knees and collapsed. Hyejung tried to cover her eyes, burying her face in her knees. Her powers were starting to involuntarily manifest itself, small portals opening and closing repeatedly in front of them. There was something about the images that was weakening her, weakening them. She closed her eyes tight, trying to shake off the feeling, but soon collapsed as well. 

~ 

A big force of energy shoved Eric all the way to the other side of the hall, the speedster unable to tap into his powers in time. He decided to slow down after his initial search through the halls and rooms of the sanitarium. He let out a loud groan, and noticed that he had crashed into the glass door. He tried to sit up, but felt a big sting on his side and his left arm. Bits and pieces of broken glass had stuck, cutting him through his clothes. Blood was already seeping through his sleeve and he tried to take each and every bit off of him, hissing at the sting. 

“Oh, you poor child,” a woman suddenly appeared. She bent down in front of him, but he sat up and backed himself against whatever was left of the door. “Don’t be afraid, I’m Dr. Han, I run this place” she tried to look at his injuries. 

Eric froze, unsure of what to do. “You work here?” he asked. 

“I do” she replied, trying to take a look at the cuts on his arm and his side. “Those wounds need cleaning up” 

Eric nodded. He was still quite wary. “Were you hiding? Because I’ve never seen you when I went around here” he asked. 

Dr. Han just smiled. “I was taking a break at the staff cafeteria” she replied. “Please, I’m a doctor, I need to treat your wounds” she said. 

He was at the cafeteria, he thought. He never saw anyone there, and he would remember if anyone was there. Dr. Han already seemed strange, with the way she was casually behaving. “N-no thanks, I’m alright,” he lied, trying to stifle the pain and get back on his feet but was met by the doctor’s unusually strong grip, pulling him down. 

“Oh come on, you’re lying” Dr. Han’s expression suddenly changed. It was twisted, menacing, and it made him freeze in horror. “In this facility, it’s bad to lie” she added. 

Eric stared at her. “You’re one to talk” he muttered, trying to get back on his feet again, but Dr. Han instantly struck his cuts with a syringe in her pocket. He fell back to his knees. “What are you doing” he groaned in pain, trying to pry off the syringe, but Dr. Han had already injected all of its contents into his body. 

Dr. Han let out an evil grin. “Something to help you relax” her voice was calm, yet chilling. 

The boy held his sleeve, and felt himself weaken. Eric tried to get back up and ran as fast as he could, but he stumbled and fell a few feet away, clutching his arm. In the corner of his eye, at the landing of the staircase, he spotted a portal opening and closing and he could see Hyejung and Junmyeon all sprawled out inside what looked like a chamber, with the teleporter barely holding on and was bordering on unconscious. He needed to get there. He needed to get inside that chamber in time. If he failed on the saving both of them, at least the three of them were stuck together. 

Eric tried to crawl, but felt a force further kick his bleeding side. Dr. Han magically appeared next to him, looking satisfied. “Oh you’re in need of relaxation, let’s bring you to my lab” she said, and her eyes started to flicker, turning black one moment, and back to normal the next. 

“No, whatever you’ve put in me, it’s not going to work” Eric groaned. He mustered up all the strength he had left and pushed her all the way back to the end of the hall he crashed in earlier, while he hurriedly crawling down the stairs and inside the portal that was closing and opening. “Noona, hyung” he stumbled inside just in time, but his legs were pulled back by the force and the portal closed again. 

Dr. Han appeared again, but her face looked slashed from the glass. “You dare get away from me” she growled. 

“Hey Dr. Frankenstein!” someone shouted from the upper staircase. To Eric’s relief, it was Changmin, Chanhee, and Jaehyun. As Dr. Han looked up, Jaehyun hit her with an optic blast, while Changmin and Chanhee got to the younger, watching Jaehyun hold the doctor off. 

“Oh my god, you’re bleeding all over” Chanhee tried to cover up Eric’s wounds with his own jacket. 

“She put something in me,” Eric slurred, watching the shapeshifter keep the blood in. “I don’t know what it is, but she did” 

Changmin tried to block Dr. Han by sending the metal file cabinet towards her, along with another metal chair to pin her against the wall. Jaehyun fired beam after beam, melting the metal parts and sealing her against the wall. “What did you do to Eric?” Jaehyun yelled as they approached the doctor. 

Dr. Han only cackled. “You think this will hold me back? Me? The destroyer of worlds?” She began to transform from within her restraints. Her skin, her eyes were becoming darker, until she turned into what looked like a black shadowy creature. She started to hover over their heads and Jaehyun tried his hardest to fire more blasts at her direction. “I am the plague, the darkness, the life of this asylum, you can’t kill me” she hissed. 

“Oh yeah?” Jaehyun tried to fire more blasts towards her when she turned back into a human. 

She cackled once more and waved a hand towards the portal that was opening up again. However, instead of showing Junmyeon and Hyejung on the other side, it showed them what was going on at Summerland. The emergency sirens and beacons were the only things that illuminated the place, while the bodies of their other colleagues were all sprawled on the floor. “Abbadon” she hissed, and to their shock, Sangyeon had appeared, stepping out of the portal and in front of Eric and Chanhee. 

Eric collapsed and started shaking on the ground while Chanhee was still frozen from shock. He immediately knelt down, frantically trying to get the speedster to wake. 

“Samael” he hissed back, standing by her side. 

Changmin and Jaehyun stared at the two. “Hyung,” the metal bender said. 

“Sangyeon isn’t here anymore, it’s Abbadon now” he said, and with a wave of his hand, sent Changmin and Jaehyun flying towards the wall. Jaehyun removed his glasses again and fired a more intense optic blast at the telepath, and they crashed, bits of plaster and debris falling on their heads. 

“This is going to take us all night” Changmin groaned as the two of them tried to get up. They were suffering from more cuts on their faces, their hands, and even their sides. “We’re going to bleed to death if something doesn’t stop this soon” he felt a wound on his forehead appear. 

“This is so unfair” Jaehyun staggered for a moment, his eyes shut tight. He was in pain, but he needed to pull through. 

Eric’s eyes were turning dark the more he writhed on the floor. “Eric! Eric! Wake up! Come on! Wake up!” Chanhee grabbed the younger by the shoulders to shake him awake. 

“He can’t hear you now,” Dr. Han growled. “He’s one of us, just like how Jaehyun is one of us” she turned back to Changmin and Jaehyun. 

Changmin stared at Jaehyun again, anticipating another attack on him.When Jaehyun didn’t move, he turned back to the two. “We knocked some sense back into him, dipshit, he’s not on your side anymore” He called out, wiping the blood on the corner of his mouth. 

“Not quite” Dr. Han gestured towards him. 

“Oh no” he sighed, as he saw Jaehyun’s eyes turn dark once more. “No, no, no, hyung, no” he kept muttering as Jaehyun got back up. 

Eric threw Chanhee off as well and got back up, his eyes dark. He sped up towards the two, followed by Jaehyun. “The others are probably halfway across the ocean by now,” Dr. Han said. “Kill them, we’ll take care of the rest” she instructed, and through another portal, she and Sangyeon disappeared. 

Changmin and Chanhee scrambled back up on their feet, with the shapeshifter running for his life down the rest of the flights of stairs. There was no way that Eric wouldn’t catch up to him. He realized that they were being left alone to tear each other apart. He had to hide, he had to think of a way to keep Eric from killing him. Chanhee slid down the banister of the staircases then jumped off at the ground floor landing, hoping to open the door. 

“Where are you going, hyung” Eric caught up to him, as if trying to corner him. 

Chanhee stared. Eric could be incredibly strong due to his speed. He was no match for him. He tried to think, while fidgeting with the locked door. He remembered what Mirae would tell him in the Danger Room. Suppress the fear and use your powers, he recalled. 

He began to transform into a figure of Dr. Han, and Eric suddenly stepped back. “Why are you out to kill me?” he said, in her voice. Eric didn’t answer. “Go back to Jaehyun and don’t move until I come back” 

Eric only nodded and sped back up the stairs. Chanhee transformed back into himself again, feeling a wave of relief wash over him as he tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. He heard the sounds of crashing metal and glass from the upstairs. Transforming into Dr. Han again, he went back up to see how Changmin was holding up. 

As he had expected, Changmin bound Jaehyun and Eric up against the wall, keeping them there with the use of the chairs and filing cabinets. They were still, but he was bleeding too much. “We need to find Hyejung and Junmyeon” Chanhee explained, but ran out of the way when a chair came for him. 

“No, no, it’s me!” Chanhee yelled, transforming back into himself, and Changmin stopped. “We need to find Hyejung and Junmyeon, they’re in this chamber somewhere, there were portals opening but we couldn’t go in” he said. 

Changmin limped towards him. “I think you should go. I don’t think I’ll make it in time” he showed the shapeshifter the wounds on his side. 

Chanhee groaned in frustration upon seeing the wounds he had. He knew that Changmin would bleed to death if he kept on. He needed to stay still. “Alright, but keep those covered up. I’ll be back” he said, and ran down the stairs once again. Changmin however, leaned back against the wall and slid down, tending to his own wounds.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the slowburn for BbangMi has worked. LOL. This particular chapter is inspired by the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" movie.

The submarine surfaced, only half of it becoming submerged as the sky was getting brighter. It was in front of a fishing village. Kevin stepped out of his room, in his pajamas, and sprinted towards the helm. He pressed a button and the periscope lowered itself from the ceiling. He looked in, seeing the view of mountains, and a group of people were staring at them, even looking right at him. “We’re here, I think” he muttered, and ran down to knock at all their doors. “Guys! Guys! We’re here!” he called out. “We’re here!” He ran up to the deck but nearly fell over as a powerful tremor hit. 

On land, the citizens also fell over at a big explosion that occurred just outside the village proper. Mirae, Hyuk, Chanyeol, Younghoon, and Juyeon fled out of their rooms already dressed and went up to the deck. Another powerful tremor hit again, and more citizens were fleeing towards the other side of the place. 

“They either chose to start things too early or we’re too late” Mirae muttered the more they watched the explosions happen. 

“We have to do something” Chanyeol said. They glanced at each other and nodded. “Alright, how do we get out of here and onto the mainland?” he asked. 

“We have a built in vehicle. I’ll get the ship above enough for you to bring it out” Kevin replied, nearly sprinting back inside, the rest of them following. 

“We’re two days ahead of schedule too” Sehun commented. They went back into their rooms to get dressed and ready, following Kevin down to the garage where they kept the car. Their vehicle reminded Chanyeol, Sehun, and Mirae of the cars they used back in the Center. It was a matte black Sedan, which they knew Junhong fixed up with his usual tweaks, from bulletproof glass, tire fillers, with a body that no gun nor heavy object can dent. 

“If any one of you can fly, now’s the best time to go ahead to the mainland” Mirae glanced at Sehun. 

“On it!” Sehun ran back upstairs to the deck. Without thinking, he lifted himself off his feet, using his powers to guide him towards the shore. Sehun stumbled upon landing, ducking out of the way from the oncoming shower of bullets being fired by armed men wearing steel armor. He immediately sent in a strong gust of wind towards the armored men. A huge, shining light was behind him, and a big ramp opened from the side of the ship. The automobile that had Hyuk, Mirae, Chanyeol, Juyeon, Younghoon, and Kevin sped out and pulled up on land. 

“I’ll stay with Sehun hyung,” Kevin suggested, pulling the brakes. “I’ll be able to control the ship from this distance” 

“Alright, we need to locate the source of the explosions,” Hyuk said, glancing at the explosions that were happening in the midst of the scrambling crowd, some of whom were dumbstruck at the sight of their ship and their car. 

“Those explosions are getting nearer, something tells me Prometheus doesn’t just plan on blowing up the meeting place” Mirae leaned forward to take a look. “With the disregard the Utopians have for human life, I wouldn’t be surprised if he plans on destroying this part of the country” she added. 

Kevin pressed a button and the top of the car opened up, lowering itself to the back. The sun was rising more and more. He jumped out, Hyuk moving to the driver’s seat. “Go!” the telekinetic gestured for him to head to the ship. Hyuk started to drive as fast as he could towards the village proper. Houses and buildings were starting to collapse and crumble from the impact. 

“Okay boys,” Mirae turned to Younghoon and Juyeon, both of whom were looking very nervous. “This is it! There are armored men, they won’t go down easily, both of you get out and take them out, alright?” she said. 

“You won’t be coming with us?” Younghoon asked. 

“I’ll be far away taking down some more of that lot too, we’ll be far away from each other,” Mirae started to shift, sitting down on the top of the seat. “Hyuk! Let these boys go easy” she nodded. Hyuk and Chanyeol gave her a knowing nod, and to the other boys’ surprise, she jumped out of the car, her staff already extended. 

Younghoon watched her rise to action towards a dozen armor-wearing thugs holding machine guns. “She’s going to die!” he yelled. 

“She’s already died so many times this is nothing!” Hyuk yelled back. “Younghoon! Go! Now! Juyeon, you’re next!” he instructed. 

He shifted a little in his seat. There was no way that Hyuk was going to pull the brakes. Younghoon could feel his heart pounding. There was the adrenaline, there was the fear, there was the nervousness. “Alright, I’m out!” he yelled, and jumped out of the car as well, landing on the ground and rolling towards what looked like a tower. 

Another mile in, and Juyeon already had a leg lifted up on the door, ready to get out. “Good luck, kid!” Chanyeol called out. Juyeon nodded and in moments, transformed, his whole body turning into metal as he jumped out. 

Hyuk quickly pressed the button to make the top go out as they reached the alley that had several men on the rooftops firing one bullet after another. “I told Kevin that the car’s the target. We have to get rid of one key building” he said. “The car’s going to be the target” 

“The bomb’s going to detonate on my hand, you’ll have to do it. Good luck!” Chanyeol patted his shoulder and Hyuk nodded. He jumped out of the car, immediately getting engulfed by the flames. Chanyeol aimed at the rows of armed thugs on the rooftops. 

~ 

The whole village was in ruins. Sehun and Kevin spotted a line of machine gun-armed thugs approaching them. “There’s about two, three dozen of them” Kevin muttered. 

“Hardly seems fair, isn’t it?” Sehun said. As the thugs were drawing nearer, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment, and with a wave of his hands, the thugs were falling to their knees, retching and coughing, until they fell to the ground. 

Kevin ran towards another dozen and tried to kick and punch them. He threw one off towards the rooftop of a building, knocking the row of armored men over like bowling pins. He looked at his claws and started to rip apart the armor, effectively killing those who were coming in his direction. 

“There’s more up on the roof” He called out to the older. 

“Need a boost?” Sehun created an air shield around them as more bullets, and even a missile was coming towards them. He wrapped the missile around a giant tornado, making it explode in mid-air instead. 

“That would be great” Kevin said as he ran 20 feet away. Sehun faced him, and conjured up a smaller flurry of wind in between his palms. He started running, picking up speed and stepping on the air flurry which sent him 20 feet up. He landed on the rooftop of where he threw one thug, and from a distance he could see Mirae also on the roof, fighting her way through. 

Mirae’s eyes were glowing so intensely as she effectively killed whoever was coming her way. It was like a second nature to her, to attack in this way, to be merciless when it counted. The gunshots were dodged, and once she killed the dozens on the rooftop, she jumped down, landing on her feet. Spinning her staff as fast as she could, she struck the ground with the tip, and a surge of energy caused a tremor, making a few other thugs who were hiding elsewhere fall out the windows and onto the ground. 

She pressed a button and both ends of her staff switched to the sharp ones. She noticed that the men who were attacking her this time, were wearing scarlet red robes and holding katanas. “Where did you all come from” she muttered, then took a card out of her pocket, throwing it in front of the group before using an unsuspecting ninja to boost her up towards the roof again, an explosion soon occurring. 

She saw Juyeon holding some by the head before throwing them off, while Younghoon was nowhere to be found. She ran towards the square and jumped off the roof again. Juyeon was using one to knock everyone else out. “Holding up okay?” she asked. 

“Kind of” Juyeon called out, while she knocked three over with a swing of her staff. “But this is thrilling!” he punched through the metal armor of several others and stood still as the bullets ricocheted him, killing the others, even the ninjas that were still alive. 

“This whole city’s invaded” Mirae struck a few with the sharp ends of her staff and pinned them towards the wall before taking it out and wiping it clean with the hem of their clothes. “Disgusting” she frowned, then joined Juyeon again. 

Meanwhile, Younghoon was watching the fights from above. He saw Juyeon and Mirae take out a few dozen, while Sehun and Kevin were also holding up on their end by the shore. He saw Chanyeol, or at least a flaming figure that resembled him, fly past. “You scared?” the fire-bender asked him, transforming back to his normal self. 

“I-I” Younghoon hesitated. “I don’t know what else to do” he said. 

“You’ll know, kid,” Chanyeol advised him, sending a rush of flames towards those ninjas that were climbing up the pillars to get to them. “Mirae would want you not to hesitate” he added. 

Younghoon raised a brow at him. “What-” 

“It doesn’t take a mind-reader to know you like her. She’s holding her ground, and you should too. She inspires you, doesn’t she?” Chanyeol teased, then transformed into a flaming figure again, flying down to the ground and sending flaming punches and melting the bullets that would come towards him. 

“Not the time, hyung!” Younghoon turned red in embarrassment and landed on the ground as well. “Alright, come at me” he kicked over several others, dodging their sword swings towards him quickly and throwing them off several feet away, crashing through a door. He rolled away from the flying arrows that suddenly appeared, with Chanyeol melting what was coming towards him. 

Younghoon kept kicking and punching a few while Chanyeol finished them off with a blast of fire. Another tremor hit, and the building in front of them suddenly exploded, sending them flying into the air. “That was close” he clutched his chest, feeling his heart pound from the surprise. 

Hyuk jumped out of the car just in time, letting it run into the next building he predicted was going to explode, and spotted a figure wearing fur-lined scarlet robes running towards the field. He ran after the figure as fast as he could and ducked when the figure fired several shots at him. “Okay, this isn’t cool” he held up a hand, and the figure was pulled towards him. 

“Catching me isn’t going to save everyone else” the figure spoke, and Hyuk noticed that the voice sounded familiar. Too familiar. 

He turned the figure around. “Oh yeah? I’m not alone. Show yourself or I will” he said, making the gun fly out of the figure’s hands. The face remained obscured by the hood, and as the hood lowered itself, Hyuk stared at the person in disbelief. It was W. “So it is you, you were behind this all along” 

“You don’t know the half of it” W replied and headbutted him hard, making her fall to the ground and run away, towards what looked like a helicopter, red clothed ninjas helping her up. 

Hyuk held his forehead as he watched them and held up a hand to try and stop the plane, but the pain took over and he lay down, the helicopter flying off. Younghoon landed upon spotting him from the field and noticed the helicopter that was flying away. “Hyuk, Hyuk hyung, are you alright?” he shook the telepath a little. He carried Hyuk on his shoulders and flew off again, making sure to bring him back inside the ship. 

The sun was up, and the explosions soon stopped. Sehun, Kevin, Juyeon, Chanyeol, and Mirae were quick to attend to those who were injured as medical stations were set up in a matter of minutes. They were all covered in dust and Sehun was sporting a scratch on his forehead. Some families backed away at the sight of Kevin, while some children didn’t, as he helped treat their wounds. 

“So, how’s everyone holding up?” Chanyeol asked them once they reassembled in front of the ship again. 

“Could be better, could be worse” Mirae looked around in concern. She knew it would take them a while to rebuild everything. “At least no one died, I hope” she said. 

“That…” Juyeon began. “Was intense, but I felt really cool” he admitted with a sheepish grin, transforming back to normal. “So what do we do now?” 

“Something tells me we need to leave,” Kevin looked around. “Hyuk’s inside the ship. He was clocked by Prometheus” he said. 

They stared at him, then rushed back inside. The doors immediately closed and Kevin went to pilot the ship again, submerging itself underwater once more. They found Hyuk and Younghoon in the meeting room, with the telekinetic lying down and holding an ice pack on his forehead. “Are you alright?” Mirae went up to him. “I should really teach you how to fight sometime, your powers can only get you very far” she added. 

Hyuk shook his head. “I’m alright. I also found out that we’ve been in for a big prank” he explained, and the rest of them sat down on the chairs. 

“Prank? What do you mean?” Mirae asked. 

“Prometheus is W” Hyuk replied simply, and all of them gaped at him. “The very person who recruited us” he sat up. 

“So she set us up?” Kevin asked, and Hyuk nodded. “What about that whole meeting?” 

Hyuk shrugged. “I was knocked out before I could get some more answers” he sighed. 

“So where do we go now? What do we do?” Younghoon looked confused, so did Juyeon and Sehun. 

Kevin suddenly ran inside the room, skidding to a halt in front of Hyuk. “Prometheus is W” Chanyeol immediately said. 

“Well, I kind of figured that out,” He replied. “There’s something you should all see. There’s a message from W” he said. 

All of them, including Hyuk, rushed out to the helm, and saw the screen flicker in front of them as Kevin played the message. It was W, looking very smug. She was wearing the scarlet robes, and seemed to be inside some ship. “If you’re watching this, then I presume you’ve found out who Prometheus is by now. Voila,” she began. 

“By now, every step has gone swimmingly as planned. So far, it’s all been a misdirection, for all of you, and I do mean all of you, even the ones who are at Summerland right now, even those of you who are, or shall I say, were, at the facility I tasked them to investigate. Even the supposed secret meeting. There is no secret meeting, no mission in the first place,” she explained. 

“Facility?” Mirae mouthed at Younghoon, who shrugged. 

“You see, I talked Ino into choosing those of his “students,” who he thought were most capable of this so-called mission,and imagine my surprise when Mirae, Chanyeol, and the telepath Hyuk, were brought on board. Now, you’re wondering why I’ve done this, and what for,” 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae glanced at each other. Younghoon looked at her with concern. “It’s very simple. I’ve come to carry on what his royal highness, the prince, and our dear leaders Cronus and Rhea, were unable to do. Take back the world, and using all of you as a means to do it,” 

“She’s insane for thinking we would help her” Juyeon muttered. 

Kevin frowned, unable to look at the screen again. “No one in this ship is completely capable of doing such a thing” he murmured. 

“If you failed in saving that village, then I’m one step closer to achieving what my predecessors never could. If you succeeded, which I have no doubts you will either, then it’s a small price to pay for me to continue on with my ultimate plan, and you should know that this world war will come sooner or later,” 

“I always have a backup plan anyway,” She said, and behind her appeared what looked like a doctor, and to their surprise, Sangyeon. “I have them to help me out.” 

“Sangyeon, what’s he doing there?” Sehun looked confused. 

“Oh, this isn’t Sangyeon anymore, if you were wondering, which I’m sure you did. I made a deal with an entity named Abbadon, that he would help me carry out this plan in exchange for total control over your friend’s body and powers,” W explained. They saw Sangyeon’s eyes flicker. 

“As for your other friends, they may have been ripped apart by now at the facility. There are ghouls and demons lurking in that place after all,” 

“So why am I already telling you this? Because it’s over, for you anyway,” They saw Sangyeon disappear behind her. “I should probably tell you that, while I’m talking, I’ve managed to slip a parting gift onto your ship. I am told it makes a big bang,” she chuckled. “Goodbye” and the screen went to black. 

They all whipped around to look. Hyuk stared at them. “There’s a bomb” he muttered. 

They nearly fell over as a muffled boom was heard. Another boom occurred and everything started to slide to one side of the room. Kevin immediately took control of the helm, pressing a few buttons. “No, no, no!” He took the ship off autopilot. “They got the engine rooms, how did they get in here” he frantically pressed every relevant button on the control panel. 

As the room was sliding to one side, Younghoon grabbed Mirae to shield her from hitting the wall, him landing on top of her. The lights started to flicker and the furniture was about to crash onto them, until he covered her, denting the table. They stared at each other. “Thanks” Mirae muttered, but before they could do anything else, they were sliding towards the other side of the room, Kevin trying his hardest to hold onto the controls. 

“No problem” He said with a slight smirk, that made her roll her eyes. 

“We need to do something” Juyeon had transformed into metal again, and he smashed his fist onto the ceiling.   
“One of us should go into the engine rooms and try and cover up the holes” Chanyeol called out, holding onto whatever furniture that was still in place. “One or two at least” he said. 

“I’ll go” Sehun crawled out of the table, keeping the oncoming furniture away with gusts of wind. 

“Me too” Hyuk said, stopping a few chairs just in time and climbing out to follow Sehun. 

“I never thought we’d experience something like in Titanic,” Kevin panicked upon hearing sirens and ominous beeps coming from the panel. “We’re taking in too much water, the primary engine room is becoming submerged as we know it. Help, help, help” he pressed another button and looked at the screen for a sign. 

The screen turned into the view of the lab area in Summerland, however he gaped when he saw an enormous splatter of blood on the wall, and the faces that were on it. “Oh my god” he muttered, pressing another button, as if to make a sound, but he saw their colleagues lying on the ground. From the way their bodies were positioned, it looked like they collapsed. “What’s happening?” He frantically pressed more buttons, in the hopes that it would wake one or two of them up. 

~ 

Sehun and Hyuk waded through the increasing water levels as they made their way into the primary engine room. It was sealed off by a big and heavy door. “How long can you hold your breath?” Sehun asked him. 

“I-I-uh, I don’t know, a minute I guess” Hyuk replied as they turned the valve to open the heavy door. 

“Good, because we’ll have to jump in. This ship needs to surface” Sehun said, taking a deep breath before jumping into the room below their feet. Hyuk did the same, and tried to open his eyes through the water. 

Sehun was a little farther from him by the time he went in, using his powers to propel himself towards a set of levers that opened a vent that would allow the ship to go up to the surface. He held himself down by holding onto a metal wall fixture, and tried to pull the lever with one hand. 

Hyuk did the same with the other lever, struggling to keep himself down and at the same time trying not to run out of oxygen. The water proved to be a challenge as he tried to use his powers. Sehun got the idea and sent a jet of bubbles towards the lever he was trying to pull. It began to move. The lever Hyuk was trying to move was also beginning to move. He stayed still, concentrating hard on the lever he was pulling back. 

The wind controller noticed Hyuk’s difficulty, and instead sent a jet of bubbles towards him to bring him up. Hyuk was propelled towards the surface, where he saw Juyeon and Chanyeol waiting for them, holding the door open. He gasped for air, coughing as they helped him up. “What about Sehun?” Chanyeol asked.

“He’s still down there,” Hyuk coughed. Looking down, he began to concentrate again. The whole ship started to rumble once again, making them fall over and hold onto the door. Sehun suddenly shot up from the water, gasping and coughing when he landed. The water levels were decreasing as the ship began to head up to the surface. 

“We’ll have a lot of repairs to do, seeing as we are no longer on track..” Juyeon looked around. 

They climbed back up onto the upper floors, where they saw Kevin, Younghoon, and Mirae fixing all the furniture and returning it back to its proper place. The three of them looked very disturbed, and the four boys quickly figured out why when they glanced at the screen. 

“Ino hyung, Junhong,” Hyuk stared at the screen, unable to comprehend what he just saw. He noticed Sunwoo, Haknyeon, Jinri, Jacob, Hyunjoon, and Jongdae all sprawled out on the floor. It was hard to tell if they were breathing or not, but they looked physically unharmed. 

“Are the others dead?” Juyeon asked, tone full of concern. 

The telekinetic looked closer, then shook his head. “No, they’re not dead, they’re .….unconscious” he realized. Hyuk closed his eyes to try and feel their presence. “Their bodies are there, but their consciousness is somewhere else...could this be their mission? Go somewhere?” 

“The astral plane, yes” Kevin replied, looking at the screen again. “They were trying to get Sangyeon back and get rid of whatever’s possessing him, it seems like they’re far behind” he said. He turned to them. “Or ahead, whichever one. Would they know what’s going on?” He asked. 

Hyuk nodded. “They know. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be getting covered in blood” He noticed the blood puddle growing larger. “Sangyeon is out there somewhere, and they’re trying to find him, right?” he asked, and Kevin nodded. 

“What should we do now?” Chanyeol asked. 

“What else can we do? We need to find W, where everything’s going to take place,” Kevin looked at the screens. “The only question remains to be how can we know where she would be” he said. “We obviously can’t ask Junhong for help, so we’re really on our own” he muttered. 

“Maybe we can fix whatever needs fixing up here” Sehun suggested. “The explosions surely damaged some parts” 

They all nodded at his idea and began to split up after Kevin gave them the instructions and directions. Hyuk stayed in the communication room, while Chanyeol and Juyeon went into the engine room. Younghoon and Mirae went to inspect the rest of the sleeping quarters and Sehun and Kevin went up to inspect the entrances and exits of the ship. 

“You fought really well earlier” Younghoon said to Mirae as they opened the doors of every other unoccupied room. 

“Thank you, I try” Mirae marked the blueprint for a gash she saw in one bedroom. “You did too for a beginner” she teased, smirking as they walked along. 

He laughed. “That may be true, but hey, I’m a guy that can learn” he said. “I bet I can learn a lot if you taught me” 

She gave him a look that made him laugh even more. “We’re already alone together, if that’s what you’re really trying to ask” she teased again, marking the other rooms on the blueprint. 

“Well you said that I was a beginner,” Younghoon pointed out, marking the room on the blueprint for her. “I learn best one on one too” he added, trying not to laugh. 

Mirae stopped, and he did as well. She looked at him. “You’re really set on wearing me down so I’d say yes, aren’t you?” she chuckled. 

“I’m someone who doesn’t give up easily. Just one date, please? If you come out of it still not impressed, I won’t make a move anymore” Younghoon said with a nod. 

She stared at him for a moment, trying to see if he was sincere. It hadn’t been long since they set out, but she already felt drawn to him in one way or another. The fact that they spent a whole day inside a ship also added to that. The way he spoke was confident, and yet there was something about it that made her feel calm. Mirae suddenly took his hand, and noticed the slight change in Younghoon’s expression. There was a hint of fear on his face as she held his hand. She handed him the blueprint and the pen. “Alright, one date, and it’s your turn to write stuff down” she said, letting go. 

Younghoon nearly dropped the paper and the pen at her answer, and a small smile crept on his face. “Good. We can eat up on the deck later, if we’re not going underwater yet” he said. 

She nodded. “We can. If we are, we’ll just watch the sharks and fishes” she said, opening the doors for him this time. This was suddenly making her think of the time she was asleep. She kept hearing someone talk to her. It didn’t sound like Hyuk, it didn’t sound like Chanyeol either or she would know nor was it Jaehwan or Jihoon. She glanced at Younghoon again. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Hmm? Of course” He said. 

“A few weeks ago, while I was asleep or something,” she began, still staring at him. “Did you-did you talk to me then?” she asked. 

The question made him nearly drop the piece of paper and the pen he was holding again. “Talk to you?” 

“Yeah. You know, like how people talk to those who fall into comas and stuff like that. Did you talk to me?” She asked. 

Younghoon nodded slightly, and they continued walking, Mirae looking at him in a way he felt he needed to explain. “I’m alone a lot, and I wasn’t in a good place during that time,” he said. “I needed to talk to someone, and the guys are always caught up in their own thing,” 

“It’s not easy having powers like mine where you can’t really touch people without hurting them” he said. 

She raised a brow. “You touched me earlier, I didn’t get hurt” she said. 

He chuckled. “No, not that way, it’s more like people get hurt if I touch them with my bare hands,” he held up a gloved hand. 

“How do they get hurt?” She asked. 

Younghoon shrugged. “They just do. Ino hyung told me that if I touched any one of you, I could absorb your powers but only for a moment, and if I held on any longer I could,” he looked down and his hands. “I could kill you guys, or put you into a coma, like that girl I kissed” 

“Oh,” she said. They suddenly stopped when they reached the end of the hall. “I heard that, I heard those things while I was asleep” she added. “It makes you wonder, though, if ever I do like the date we’ll have, how are we going to…you know,” she said. 

He knew what she meant, and it made him a little red in the face. “I know, I feel like an idiot for not keeping that in mind” he said, looking down again. 

Mirae shook her head. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, not that I’ve learned much about this kind of thing, it’s that there are other ways to show it” she said. “Come on, let’s go back, they might be wondering where we’ve gone off to” 

The two of them walked back to the main living space where Hyuk was, still keeping an eye on the screen in case something came up. “We’ve already made the necessary marks, who do we turn these to?” Younghoon raised the blueprint up. 

Hyuk turned around. “Kevin,” he suddenly froze. “Someone’s here” he muttered. 

“Of course someone’s here, you, me, her, Kevin,” Younghoon replied, but Mirae nudged him. “Oh, you mean someone else other than us is here” 

“Yeah, it’s coming from the entrances. Mirae, come with me” Hyuk got up and Mirae extended her staff. “Younghoon, stay by the panel and wait for something, anything to show up on the screen” he instructed, and the two of them ran down the hallway. 

Sehun and Kevin were unconsciously pinned against the walls of the ship, being held back by a chunk of metal. A dark shadow was looming above their heads and it began to spread, crawling like a dark cloud. Hyuk and Mirae skidded to a halt when they saw it, and Sehun and Kevin. The telepath closed his eyes, trying to let Chanyeol and Juyeon know what was going on. They would be hurrying down by now, he thought. 

Mirae stared at the entity, quietly studying it. They could use Hyunjoon’s help by now, she thought. The shadow suddenly began to take a form, two feet, legs, until it transformed into a person. Sangyeon, or at least someone who looked like him. “Oh, you” she muttered. 

“Yes, me. The fallen angel, the destroyer of worlds, this is what is destined for the powerful one, for me” his voice was different, and they knew it wasn’t his own. “So you’re a telepath too” he hissed at Hyuk. 

“Have a thing for people with that kind of ability?” Hyuk replied. “What are you doing here?” 

“I have come,” he took a step closer. “To make a proposition. Your friends elsewhere are in great trouble. If you don’t agree to what I have to say, then I will have no choice but to kill them” 

Chanyeol and Juyeon suddenly appeared, stopping at the sight of Sangyeon, and at Sehun and Kevin against the wall. “Go on, then. What do you want?” Hyuk asked. 

“The seven of you were chosen to be in this mission, a mission to take over the world. You have proven yourselves to be the strongest, and only the strong can prosper in the new world I have planned” He hissed. 

“Our friends are also quite powerful, are you sure it’s just us that you want?” Chanyeol asked this time. 

“Yes, because what use are your abilities when you don’t even know how to use it to your advantage. It’s a world in which the strong survive and the weak die, and all of you, are anything but weak” 

“Flattered, but why don’t you try and find out if we really want to join you” Mirae said, and she suddenly struck him with her staff, sending him towards the wall where Sehun and Kevin were, the two of them falling to the floor as the metal that held them back fell off. 

“Sangyeon’s going to have a sore body if ever he goes back to normal” Juyeon observed, and transformed into his metal self, as Chanyeol engulfed himself in flames again. “Where’s Younghoon?” 

“He’s at the helm, waiting for a sign” Mirae’s eyes were glowing. Sangyeon slowly got up from the floor, and an evil grin appeared on his face, his eyes turning black. He sent a gust of black smoke towards her, and she was being engulfed by the black smoke. 

Hyuk stared at the smoke that was covering her, as she tried to fight her way out, but to no avail. “Mirae!” He yelled, unsure of what to do. Juyeon suddenly charged towards Sangyeon, only to get pushed back by a powerful force he sent towards the younger. “I can’t battle him, or I don’t know what to do” he muttered. Chanyeol tried to charge at Sangyeon as well, only to be engulfed by another cloud of black smoke. 

Kevin and Sehun struggled from behind the metal that was holding them back. “He’s taken control of Sangyeon’s powers, the only way to fight him is in your head” Kevin tried to explain in his head, in the hopes that Hyuk would hear his thoughts. Hyuk tried to attack, but he found himself being held back by an invisible force. Sangyeon was preventing him. 

Chanyeol let out a yelp of pain, and Hyuk saw that the smoke was trying to eat away at his skin, despite being engulfed in flames. Mirae was also yelling in pain. Younghoon came in running and skidded to a halt at what he was seeing. “Mirae!” He tried to go closer to the smoke. 

“Don’t!” Mirae’s face was getting burned off, only for her skin to turn back to normal. “Don’t go near, I’ll be fine” she yelled. 

Younghoon eyed Sangyeon, and the way Hyuk was standing. He also glanced at Sehun and Kevin. Juyeon got up on his feet and tried to charge again, only to be sent flying back onto the wall. He ran towards Sangyeon, removing his gloves and touched his face with both hands. Sangyeon suddenly froze, gagging and shivering as if the air was being sucked out of him. “I’m sorry, but you’re not Sangyeon hyung” he held onto him, enough for him to free Hyuk, Chanyeol, Mirae, Kevin, and Sehun. Chanyeol was sporting so many wounds on his face and arms, while Kevin and Sehun were bruised. Mirae’s face, hands, and arms were also healing. 

Sangyeon collapsed on the floor when Younghoon let go, freezing as he suddenly saw visions. He saw the face of the white blob of a creature, growling in anger. Younghoon backed away and blinked, shaking off the visions, but it wouldn’t go away. He fell over and shut his eyes tight, the lights suddenly flickering. 

“Younghoon? Younghoon?” Mirae instantly went up to him. She held his face, patting his cheek. “Younghoon, are you alright?” she asked, trying to keep him still. She held his face again. “Hey, what’s happening to him?” she looked back at Hyuk, but was only met by a stare in response. Kevin and Juyeon were also staring at him, as did Sehun. 

“How are you doing that?” Juyeon asked her. 

“Doing what?” 

“Touching him without getting hurt” Hyuk said. 

It was then that Mirae realized what she was doing, then let go. “Well, I’m not hurt, I’m fine. Chanyeol’s the one who’s hurt” she pointed out. 

“We know, but Younghoon’s powers can hurt you too, you know? You touched his face, you weren’t wearing gloves” Juyeon pointed out as well. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me, Chanyeol needs first aid- wait,” Mirae stood up and went up to the fire-bender. “I have an idea, but promise me you won’t be disgusted” she said. 

Chanyeol raised a brow at her. “How disgusting is it?” he asked. 

Mirae picked up her staff and exposed the sharp tip. “If you’re afraid at the sight of blood, you’re not going to like what I’m going to do” she said, and slit her wrist. Blood was soon trickling down her arm and before she could heal, she grabbed his wounded arms to pour the drops of blood over the cuts. To their surprise, and hers, the cuts started healing. Mirae’s wrist healed up as well. Kevin looked on in amazement. 

“Thanks” he smiled. Mirae patted his arm and went back to Younghoon, Juyeon still looking shocked at how she was able to touch him again. 

“Hey, hey,” Mirae patted his cheeks. “Younghoon, hey” she said. 

His eyes fluttered open and everything went back to normal. As he saw Mirae leaning over him, he began to realize the situation he was in, and rolled away. “Don’t touch me!” he said. 

“She just did” Kevin pointed out. 

Younghoon stared at Mirae. “You did? You didn’t get hurt?” he asked. Mirae shook her head. “It might be because I absorbed Sangyeon’s powers for a bit that you could. It’s worn off now, so please don’t touch me, or my face” he said. 

Hyuk raised a brow. “What did you see?” He asked. 

“That monster that keeps appearing in his dreams,” he got back up on his feet. “He’s not happy, he’s pissed off that I touched him” a worried look soon spread over his face, and they looked over at the boy at the other end of the room. 

“What do we do now?” Chanyeol asked. 

“We keep him here,” Hyuk replied. “He doesn’t get out, and we’ll be able to figure out where W’s going” he said. 

“I really feel bad for Sangyeon hyung. Getting possessed and all that. He’s going to feel so beaten up when this is all over” Juyeon said. 

Mirae frowned. “With how things are going, there’s a chance that he might not even survive after this” she said. “It seems like that monster has really taken hold of Sangyeon’s body and his powers. Who knows what he’s trying to do to Sangyeon from the inside, and what he might get Sangyeon to do out here. Even our lives are in danger” 

A silence ensued for a moment, as they looked on at the boy. “I think I have a solution to that” Kevin muttered, looking unsure. “Even before, while we were on our way out here, I kept myself busy developing a device that could, in a way, isolate the monster from Sangyeon’s personality, or consciousness or persona, if you will” he explained. “If Hyunjoon is in the astral plane right now trying to track down the monster, the device could make it a lot easier for him to take it down. All Sangyeon need do is wear it” he finished. 

“What about Sangyeon’s consciousness? Will it come back?” Sehun asked. 

“Of course,” Kevin nodded. “I think. What better way to see if it works than by testing it out, right?” he let out a nervous chuckle. 

“Get it. We’ll keep him upright first” Hyuk said, and Kevin dashed out of the hall and into his room. 

“Let’s hope that Hyunjoon gets to the monster. It’s bad enough that Sangyeon has to live with this kind of mental torture” Sehun said. “Someone with his power set is bound to snap sometime.” 

Hyuk held up his palm, and Sangyeon’s body was soon upright, leaning against the wall. “Do we keep him in the living area?” He asked. 

“It’s best that we do, so someone always has an eye on him in case anything happens again” Chanyeol suggested, and they agreed. 

Kevin suddenly returned, holding up what looked like a metal crown with wires. “Let me just turn this on,” He flipped a tiny switch on one side. There were little red lights on the inside. Hyuk brought Sangyeon’s body closer, close enough for Kevin to slip the crown onto his head. “Here goes” he took a deep breath and all of them waited. 

Sangyeon’s eyes shot open, and he looked panicked. “My body! My body!” he said, but calmed down when he saw their faces. “Guys?” He asked. “Guys, why am I like this? Why...does my body hurt?” 

They all breathed a sigh of relief. “Sangyeon hyung” Juyeon smiled. 

“Where am I? This place looks fancy” He said. 

“You’re on the ship I’ve been building for 2 years now” Kevin replied. 

“Really? This was what you’ve been working on? This looks really big” Sangyeon said, impressed. “Thank you for bringing me my body back, I’ve been trying to reach that monster for a while now and I keep running into a dead end” he said. 

They nodded. “I’ve managed to isolate the monster, don’t worry. But you’ll have to wear that until Hyunjoon makes the kill,” Kevin explained. “We might also have to keep you in the living space so we all have an eye on you” 

Sangyeon frowned, but nodded as he understood why. “On the bright side, though,” Sehun suddenly spoke. “Kevin made these little bars that turn into big meals when you put them in the microwave” he said. 

“That’s cool. You’ve really outdone yourself” Sangyeon said, and Kevin beamed with pride. 

“I’ll get the first aid kit, I feel partially responsible for why you feel so beaten up” Mirae nodded and turned around. Younghoon turned to follow her as well while Hyuk brought Sangyeon towards the living area. 

~ 

Younghoon caught up to Mirae in the restroom as she brought down the first aid kit from the shelf. “Are you sure you really didn’t get hurt when you touched me?” he asked. 

She turned around to face him. “Yes, I’m sure. I would know if I was, but I wasn’t” she replied. “Do you want to see for yourself?” she asked. 

“No,” He replied right away. “Or yes, I don’t know, I can’t understand” he said. 

Mirae noticed that he wasn’t wearing his gloves. If she asked, he wouldn’t let her. “Make up your mind” she said. 

“Okay, yes. Yes, I want to see for myself” He replied, convinced of his own decision. 

She took a step closer to him. Mirae looked into his eyes, trying to see if he meant it. She took another step closer, but he didn’t move. She looked down at his hands. He kept them in his pockets. Another idea came to mind, and it was one she hoped would make it clear to him. 

Mirae took another step, until they were only a few inches apart. “If it does hurt me, I don’t want you to blame yourself. I can take it.” she whispered. 

“That’s what she said” Younghoon whispered as well. 

She smiled. She leaned in, one hand on the hem of Younghoon’s jacket, and pressed her forehead on his. Mirae tilted her head a little, the two of them cheek to cheek with each other. The more she tilted her head, they were nose to nose. She stopped. “See? You’re not hurting me” she said quietly. 

Younghoon felt a big feeling of relief come over him. “It seems that way,” he nodded slightly. “There must be something about you that can handle me” 

“I’ve handled worse” Mirae simply replied, before pulling away and getting the first aid kit. “We should go now, I have to try and help Sangyeon be better” she said, passing by him to leave the room. 

Younghoon leaned back on the wall and sighed. While he was relieved, he was also feeling frustrated. He was frustrated that she never thought anyone could help her, frustrated that she was the one who always had to do the saving, frustrated that he could never show her how much he was beginning to care for her. She was cold, he wasn’t. He soon padded out of the restroom and back to the living area, where everyone else was. Sangyeon was seated on the couch, holding a bag of ice over his body. 

“You have some explaining to do,” Hyuk said, handing him a plate of a cheeseburger meal. 

Sangyeon nodded. “I know, and there’s also something I want to know too,” he looked down for a moment. “Did I hurt anyone?” he asked. 

They all exchanged looks, and the telepath instantly knew what they meant. “Oh no, no, no,” he frowned, putting his plate down and covering his face in shame. “Who?” 

“Ino and Junhong” Hyuk replied softly. Sangyeon only groaned and sighed in his seat, trying not to move too much. “You kind of sent stuff towards Mirae and Chanyeol too-” 

“But don’t worry, we’re fine” Chanyeol assured him. “We’re fine” he said. 

The younger boy nodded, looking back up at him and at Mirae. “I don’t deserve to live. I’m too dangerous, for everyone” he said. “Everyone could die with what I can do” 

“You might be right, that everyone could die and you don’t need to bat an eye to do it,” Mirae suddenly said. Everyone else looked at her, including Sangyeon. “But the only thing you can do is move forward.” 

“How do you know what to do?” Sangyeon’s eyes were welling up with tears. 

“I’ve had my fair share of a body count, two of which were the people I cared about the most in the whole world” Mirae said quietly. “You’d know about it, you were there when it happened” she added. Younghoon suddenly put a hand on her shoulder, as if to comfort her, sensing the pain in her words. “If it makes you feel any better,” Mirae then said. “You really didn’t kill Ino and Junhong, Abbadon did” 

“But I was his weapon” Sangyeon held back his sobs. Mirae leaned in to wipe his tears away. 

“So was I back then, but you saved me, didn’t you?” she said. “You got rid of what made me a weapon. There is more good to you than bad, and you can be assured that we’re all trying to put a stop to that monster” she finished. 

“Hyunjoon is in the astral plane right now, you can be sure of that. If anything, Ino hyung may also be in there, that guy can’t really die” Juyeon said. 

Sangyeon looked down, unable to speak. “You have to help us now,” Kevin said. “Would you know where everything, all this chaos, and supposed war would be? Abbadon made a deal with Prometheus, that he could have your body in exchange for world domination. Do you have an idea of where this would all lead?” he asked. 

The telepath closed his eyes, trying to recall what he had seen and heard while in the astral plane. “Bermuda. The Bermuda Triangle” he muttered. 

“Right! Bermuda Triangle here we go!” Kevin went ahead to the helm and set the destination in the panels.


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Character death ahead. 
> 
> Also... I snuck in a "Days of Future Past" film reference. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Chanhee ran as fast as he could throughout the halls of the facility. It was then he realized just how big it was. He was exhausted, more than he was ever before. Changmin, Jaehyun, and Eric were losing blood from their wounds, and if he wasn’t able to get to Hyejung and Junmyeon, the two of them would remain locked inside the chamber. His shapeshifting wasn’t going to do him any good in this scenario. He wasn’t the most athletic person among them either. He sprinted down a spiral staircase that he saw, led to what looked like the intensive care unit. There was a strong smell of something decaying, and Chanhee held his breath as he looked through the rooms for a sign of their mentors. 

He suddenly remembered what their surroundings looked like, he just didn’t know where it was. He remembered seeing lights and a kind of animation playing on the walls, with very eerie music accompanying it. A gas was soon filling the halls, and Chanhee kept holding his breath as he went through, being on high alert in case something or someone would come at him. 

As he went down another flight of stairs in the hopes of finding the room where Hyejung and Junmyeon were, he slipped and fell, sliding down what seemed like a chute. “Oh god!” He yelled in fear, until he landed on his butt in another part of the facility. 

It was dark, and Chanhee could feel a thick layer of dust under his hands as he got to his feet. He tried to feel around for a light switch, and turned it on when he found it. There was a thick layer of dust covering the fluorescent lights in the ceiling, and he yelled when a small swarm of moths went flying, covering his head and trying to swat away the ones that were coming towards him. It was then that he noticed the kind of room that he was in. The laundry room, and he entered through the chute, fashioned like a trap door. There were several industrial washing machines and dryers next to each other, all of which he knew haven’t been used in years. 

“Hyunjoon, if you can hear me, get your butt over here and help me find the others” Chanhee murmured to himself as he spotted the door next to one of the dryers. He jumped in surprise when a sudden bang came from the machine, making it move. He moved a little to the side, away from the machine as he approached the door. 

It made another bang. Chanhee took deep breaths, trying to stay calm the closer he got to the door. ‘Don’t look in the dryer, don’t look in the dryer’ he thought to himself, as another bang was heard. 

He took another step and clutched the doorknob, the machine suddenly caught fire, the door of the dryer opening to reveal a scorched arm, followed by another arm, and then a blackened, scorched head of a creature, Chanhee screamed and quickly opened the door, only to be met with a closet. He screamed some more as the creature crawled out of the dryer, leaving a trail of an inky-black liquid at its wake. 

The shapeshifter looked around as the creature started to corner him. There was only the chute from where he came from and the closet. He could either stay inside the closet until the monster would give up and go away, or he could go back up the chute and possibly get hurt again. He needed to think, and there wasn’t much time. 

~ 

Changmin pressed his wounded side in an attempt to keep the blood from coming out. His hold on Jaehyun and Eric was starting to fade, and he knew they could attack him if he let go of whatever he pinned the two against the wall with. He blinked a few times to stay awake. He didn’t want to die. It was the last thing on his mind. He needed to stay awake, he needed to keep Jaehyun and Eric from hurting everyone else that was in the facility. 

He also wondered how long until they could get out. He was losing blood, and he also knew Jaehyun and Eric were also losing some blood, from the wounds on their bodies. “I can’t believe this is how things turned out for all of us,” he muttered. “We’re sent here to investigate, we end up being turned against each other…” 

The metal-bender looked at Jaehyun and Eric. “If this is the way things will end for us, I do want to say that I really enjoyed every moment of our time as colleagues, and as friends, and as brothers…” he was starting to slur. 

“Don’t say that” Eric suddenly said, and Changmin stared at him. 

“We’re not going to die,” he groaned, feeling the intense pain on his arm, which was also bleeding profusely. “We were just unprepared, we didn’t think this place would chew us up” 

“We really should have seen this coming,” Changmin tried to sit up properly. He let the piece of metal that was pinning Eric to the wall out, and the speedster slid to the floor, clutching his arm. 

Eric crawled towards the older and sat down next to him, removing his jacket to wrap it around his bleeding arm. “But we didn’t...we didn’t see this coming at all” 

“Sangyeon hyung’s possessed, Hyejung and Junmyeon are lost in another room, Chanhee’s taking a lot longer than I thought, and we’re here, trying not to bleed to death” Changmin muttered. “For some reason, I don’t think we’ll even go home right away” 

“I think Jaehyun hyung’s wounded in the jugular” Eric pointed, to the big red collar forming around the older’s neck. He groaned as he tried to sit up some more. Jaehyun however, was starting to collapse against the metal barrier Changmin pinned onto him, his strength fading with every minute. 

“He’s going to die” Changmin said weakly, looking concerned at his friend’s fate. “If we don’t get out of here, Jaehyun hyung’s going to die from that” he added. The barrier was carefully lifted off of him with a wave of his hand, and Jaehyun slid to the floor. 

“Hyung,” Eric called out to him. “Hyung, you have to stay awake, alright?” he said. Jaehyun didn’t answer. “Hyung,” 

Changmin closed his eyes for a moment. He was trying to figure out what to do while Chanhee was trying to find Hyejung and Junmyeon. “Hyung, stay awake, look at us, just stay awake, you’re losing a lot of blood” he said. 

A sudden flash of light was soon appearing from the landing of the third floor. Changmin and Eric watched it appear, then fade. The light appeared and faded again, as if it was blinking. The two of them tried to inch towards the source of the light in between groans of pain. The light appeared again, and as they saw where the light was coming from, they felt a tremendous wave of relief wash over them. Hyejung’s powers were manifesting again. 

“We need to get in that” Eric said. “If we could all stick together, we can all get out of here together” he added. 

A very loud growl suddenly erupted from within the walls, followed by a tremor, then another growl. The light faded once again, and the two of them sat up in alert. “What was that?” Changmin asked. 

“It’s coming from here” Eric replied, looking up at the ceiling. A red stain was starting to form from above, and drops of blood were soon coming down upon the three of them. “Why blood, why all this blood?” he said, in a pained tone. 

“It’s possible that this is the blood of those who were here before us” Changmin explained, wiping the drops that were falling on his hand on the sleeve of his jacket. A dark cloud was soon hovering above their heads. “Eric, you’ll have to run, run away from what’s above us” he whispered. 

“Why?” The younger asked. 

“It’s going to eat away at you, that’s why. Try and find Chanhee, you’re the only one who can do that” Changmin said, eyes fixed upon the dark cloud. 

“I can’t leave both of you” Eric shook his head. 

“You have to, because you can’t carry us both” Changmin pointed out. 

“I can try”

“No,” Jaehyun suddenly spoke, and the two of them stared at him. “You’re fast, but you need to find Chanhee for this to stop” he said, and took his sunglasses off, big rays of his optic blast going through the dark cloud above their heads. 

“Go” Changmin told the younger firmly, and Eric could feel the frustration rise within him, as he nodded with a pained expression on his face before taking off. The dark cloud stayed still. “Hyung, you have to stay awake” he said again. 

“I know,” Jaehyun nodded, using the remaining strength he had to put more power into his optic blasts, causing a hole in the ceiling, some debris falling on them. “But if I don’t make it-” 

“Don’t say that” Changmin cut him off. “We’re all going to make it out of here together” he groaned, trying to use the barrier that held Jaehyun back onto the cloud. “Together, we have to” he kept one hand on his wounded side. 

“I know” Said the older, pushing up his collar to keep the blood from coming out. Tears were suddenly falling down the sides of his face in frustration. “I know.” 

~ 

Hyejung’s eyes were starting to open. The animation was still playing over and over again on the walls of the chamber she and Junmyeon were in. Her head was starting to hurt from the dizzying images, and she shut her eyes. The water-bender was still unconscious, but already sprawled on the floor. She tried to regain her strength, tried to stand up, and tried her hardest not to look at the animation that caused them to pass out. She felt around for a door knob, but there was none. She felt around for a window. “Junmyeon? Wake up please” she said. “Junmyeon? Please” she repeated, and tried to visualize the hallway outside the chamber. She needed to get them out. 

Everything suddenly went dark. Hyejung opened her eyes. There was a faint light in front of what she realized was a little window. She was standing in front of what would be the door. The lights outside were starting to flicker, and she screamed in surprise at what she saw. It was an old man, dressed in yellowing scrubs, but his eyes were black and so was his mouth. The man seemed to be cackling and suddenly held up a handsaw and a drill. 

She ducked down and went back to Junmyeon, who was still knocked out. “Junmyeon, Junmyeon, wake up, wake up” she panicked, trying to shake him awake. “Junmyeon, please wake up” she patted his face. “Come on, please!” she said frantically, trying not to glance back at the window. 

Junmyeon started to stir, his eyes fluttering open. “Wh-what’s going on?” He muttered, blinking a few times to try and see through the near-darkness that surrounded them. 

“We’re trapped and we need to get out of here, but there’s that creepy doctor whatever outside!” Hyejung panicked, pointing at the window, and Junmyeon screamed as well. 

The doctor suddenly disappeared, and everything went quiet again. Junmyeon and Hyejung stared at each other. The water-bender suddenly felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end. He could feel something, as if someone was breathing down his neck, as if someone was watching them. 

The two of them screamed again when out of the darkness inside the chamber, the doctor appeared again. Junmyeon and Hyejung stood against the walls as the doctor was approaching them. He swallowed hard, too scared to do anything. The doctor was cackling and Hyejung was beginning to cower in her place. “You stop right there” He waved a hand in front of the doctor and curled his fingers, in an attempt to try an idea that popped in his head. 

Junmyeon stayed focused, kept his eyes on the movements of the doctor as he reached out, doing pulling motions in front of them. The doctor began to jerk and move the more it approached them. The more he did the motions, the more the doctor jerked and moved differently. “You get us out of here” he said firmly, as if he was controlling the body movements of the doctor. 

To his and Hyejung’s surprise, the doctor groaned and hesitantly drilled holes through the door. “You’re not doing this fast enough” Junmyeon’s tone was a lot more stern than before, as he tried to maintain his concentration. The doctor began to drill more holes into the door. 

“How are you doing that?” Hyejung whispered to him, still in disbelief at what he was doing. 

“Blood” He replied. The doctor drilled more holes. “Faster” he did more pulling motions. The more the doctor jerked and growled in response while involuntarily doing what he was told. 

Hyejung patted his arm. “I think we’ve bought enough time, I can see what’s outside” she whispered. She waved her hand and a portal appeared, showing the end of the hallway from where they were. “Come on” she said. “They’re going to get displaced if they try and follow” she added, jumping into the portal. Junmyeon quickly followed and the portal closed behind them. 

They ran towards whichever hall was in front of them, sprinting down the steps and nearly falling over down on the landing of the floors they found themselves in. Junmyeon and Hyejung skidded to a halt at the sight of a black fog in front of the landing of the last step they were on. They suddenly heard someone screaming in pain. They looked at each other, upon realizing whose voice it was. “Eric” they said. Hyejung turned around, trying to visualize what was within the fog and created a portal. 

There was a flash of light, and she saw Eric trying to run through, the skin on his face and hands were getting wounded. The fog soon overtook the speedster and started moving through the portal Hyejung created. She closed it right away. 

“Great, whatever that is has Eric trapped, and we can’t do anything about it” She said, groaning in frustration.

Junmyeon looked around. He began to concentrate. A big ball of water suddenly formed out of thin air. “I don’t know if this is going to work, I’m just hoping it does, so we can get Eric out of there” he muttered. Hyejung watched him, keeping an eye on the fog that had thickened. The ball of water grew larger and larger, until it was large enough to engulf both of them in it. With a gesture, the water seemed to have swallowed up the fog. 

Eric found himself skidding to a halt at the pain. He needed to pull through. Changmin and Jaehyun were in worse shape than he was, and he could only imagine what Chanhee may be going through. He needed to find Junmyeon and Hyejung, and the portal that suddenly appeared from a distance seemed to give him that glimmer of hope. 

However, he was getting more and more wounded as he ran, until all of a sudden, he found a big wave of water crash into the hallway he was in, sweeping him off his feet and clearing out the black fog that seemed to be dangerous. He tried to keep his head up after the water cleared out the fog from the ceiling to the walls. Eric coughed and tried to swim with the tide, only to be pushed through a huge portal and landing on the top step. To his relief, he saw Hyejung and Junmyeon, looking over at him as the portal closed, but the water remained on the floor. 

“Eric” Hyejung helped him up. “Oh my god” she noticed his wounds. 

“I found you guys” He coughed and tried to sit up. “Changmin hyung, Jaehyun hyung, they’re wounded, they’re bleeding, we need to go back” he said. 

“What happened?” Junmyeon noticed his covered-up arm, and the blood trickling from his hands. 

“There’s something in the fog that eats away at the skin” Eric held up his hand. 

Hyejung and Junmyeon turned to each other, and then back to Eric. “We need to get out of here” she said. 

“There’s more,” Eric said, while Junmyeon’s hands began to glow as he touched the younger’s wounds. “There was a doctor, and Sangyeon, he’s possessed, they did something to me, to Jaehyun hyung, turned us against Changmin and Chanhee, they left, and wanted us to die here” he explained. 

“Where’s Chanhee?” Junmyeon asked. 

“I don’t know. Changmin hyung sent him to look for both of you, but he hasn’t returned, so I had to follow” He replied. 

“Alright, Junmyeon, you should go back to Changmin and Jaehyun, I’ll go with Eric to find Chanhee” Hyejung explained, pulling Eric to his feet. 

The water bender nodded. “Where are the two?” He asked the speedster. 

“Two floors below” Eric replied. 

They turned to Hyejung, who closed her eyes for a moment, trying to visualize the floor. With a wave of her hand, a portal soon appeared, showing them the hallway filled with broken glass and debris. At the end of the hallway, were Jaehyun and Changmin, and a dark cloud. Both of them were already lying, perhaps knocked out. Jaehyun’s glasses were in his hand. 

“Oh my god” Hyejung muttered as they rushed through the portal and towards the two. She felt Changmin’s neck for a pulse. “He’s unconscious” she said, seeing the blood from his side. “He’s losing a lot of blood, you need to heal him now” she told Junmyeon. 

Junmyeon immediately went to work, his hands glowing as he touched Changmin’s side. “I don’t know if this will work, seems like he’s been cut deep” he looked worried, while Hyejung pressed down on Jaehyun’s neck, preventing any more blood from coming out. 

“Jaehyun? Jaehyun?” she muttered, patting his face to get him to wake up. “Come on, Hyunjae, wake up, please” 

Eric knelt down, looking at both of his friends’ bodies and watching Hyejung and Junmyeon try and keep them alive. He was trying his hardest not to panic, not to cry. He didn’t want anyone to die. “They need more treatment” Junmyeon told them. “We need to get out of here” he added. 

“We need to find Chanhee right away. Jaehyun-” Hyejung’s voice broke. “Jaehyun might not last longer if we stay here” she said, on the verge of tears. She kept patting his face. “Come on, please stay alive, just a little longer” she whispered. 

The speedster could feel his heart sink at her words. The worst seemed to be coming. Junmyeon also looked crushed. Changmin was still unconscious, but from what he could see, the wounds he got from his side had healed. He immediately went over to Jaehyun and his hand glowed once again. “Find Chanhee, both of you, quickly” he said to them. 

Hyejung wiped her eyes, feeling the worry and the sadness come over her as she stood up. “Come on” she turned to Eric. “We need to find Chanhee” she took his hand. A portal soon appeared, showing another hallway of what seemed to be the floor above, and they stepped inside. 

~ 

The walls of the room echoed with growls and Chanhee’s screams as he tried to climb back up the chute where he came from. The creature was pulling at his legs, growling and screeching at him. As the shapeshifter tried to climb back up, he could see the light at the top of the chute fading. A black fog was slowly obstructing the light, and it began to seep into the chute and towards Chanhee. He yelled and screamed in pain as he felt the fog begin to eat away at his skin again. 

He was trapped in the middle. He would either be killed by the creature, or he would be eaten away by the fog. He didn’t know what else to do, he didn’t know what he could do. Chanhee’s skin was healing at the same time it was being eaten away. His face and hands were getting scarred and he let out a loud cry as he used all his strength to climb up and out of the chute. 

Chanhee crawled, trying to get out, in the hopes of getting into a place that didn’t have the fog. But it didn’t seem to clear, and he kept crawling, trying to get to his feet. He tried to shield his face as he broke into a run, but met a dead end, nearly falling back onto the floor. As he fell over, he saw that he was in front of the creature itself. He crawled back, and tried to run, and the fog suddenly cleared up, taking the form of another demonic creature that was cornering him. 

He stumbled into the open room and grabbed the first object he could get his hands on, a scalpel that was on the dusty table. Chanhee never stabbed anyone or anything before, but he may have to this time. “Get back, or I’m sticking this into either of you” he warned, lunging forward a few times to try and scare them. 

The demons only cackled. Chanhee spotted a syringe filled with a clear liquid also by the table. He hoped that whatever was inside that, could do some damage to the creatures in front of him. He had never been so terrified in his life. He tried to think of what Mirae told him in the Danger Room. He needed to play to his own strengths, so what could he do other than transform into other beings? 

Chanhee was helpless. Even though he knew what to do, his body kept him from taking action. But he needed to move, to do something. His life as well as the others’ lives were on the line. He tried to slip through to get to the table and grab the syringe. But all of a sudden, before he could do anything, the two demons were already on the floor, and a flash of light appeared by the door. Hyejung and Eric were standing on the other side, hands out for him to reach. 

“Thank god!” Chanhee let out a big sigh of relief as he hurried through the portal, holding onto both of them. 

“We need to get out of here, Changmin and Jaehyun are barely hanging on” Hyejung said as they hurried down the staircase. 

“What do you mean barely hanging on?” Chanhee asked, but he already knew the answer just by seeing the pained expression on Eric’s face. “You mean they’re not going to make it?” 

“If we don’t get out of here and go back to Summerland, they won’t” Hyejung fought back the tears that were welling up in her eyes as she made another portal, showing the hallway where Junmyeon, Jaehyun, and Changmin were. It was there that Chanhee no longer felt fear, but a deep feeling of sadness and worry. 

Junmyeon’s hands were glowing as he tried to heal Jaehyun’s wounds. Changmin still lay unconscious, but his wounds were nearly gone. “Jaehyun’s been cut deep from whatever he got into when we came in” his tone was becoming more and more pained. 

A loud growl came from the dark part of the hall, and the darkness suddenly took the form of another demon, until it turned into an old man in scrubs. It then turned into the doctor Hyejung and Junmyeon encountered. “My dear, you’re all wounded, time to treat your wounds” he said, rather feebly. 

“Nope” Junmyeon glared at him. He needed to heal Jaehyun. 

Hyejung then created a portal in front of the doctor. “Stay where you are, or I cut you in half” she said. 

The doctor only laughed. “Definitely in need of treatment. This is a safe place” he remarked. 

“What do you mean safe? Is your definition of safe dragging Jaehyun hyung through the walls and cutting into him?” Eric found the courage to speak. “Is your meaning of safe practically eating us away and trapping us into chambers?” 

“Our methods may be unorthodox, but they have been proven very effective” 

“Effective my foot” Eric sped towards the doctor and punched him several times from different places and sending him in different directions. He had never been so angry. “Happydale Homes my foot, safe my foot” he kicked and punched the doctor some more. “This is for Jaehyun hyung, and for Changmin hyung, and for Chanhee hyung, and for Hyejung noona, and for Junmyeon hyung!” he yelled as he continued to kick and punch the doctor in different areas all at once. The doctor fell to the ground, hitting the glass door where shards fell on him. “And this is for me!” Eric yelled, kicking the doctor in the face and stomping on his head. 

He watched as the doctor lay on the ground. The doctor let out a low cackle as it slowly got up, transforming bit by bit into the demon it was, eyes black and fangs bared. It suddenly grabbed Eric by the throat and lifted him up off the ground. The speedster struggled, legs dangling. “You think you can take me?” the demon growled. 

“Yes” Junmyeon said, his hands still glowing as he continued trying to heal Jaehyun, but he could also feel his strength fading. 

“Oddities of nature, we are, why fight when we can work together and bring in a new age to the world” the demon said. 

“That may be true, us being the odd ones,” Chanhee said. “But this age you’re trying to bring is not going to end well” 

“The sentiment is touching, but it isn’t going to do anything to me” the demon transformed back into the doctor once again, and Eric fell to the floor, coughing and clutching his throat. “How long until these powerless humans see you all for who you really are? We are gods to them, and they are weak” 

“No, they’re not weak” Eric coughed. “And what does it matter how they see us? We’re not hurting them” 

The doctor laughed. “Oh? Are you sure? Are you sure there are people not getting hurt because of beings like yourselves destroying homes, buildings, killing families in the midst of this war?” he spat. “Right now, the world is on the brink of destruction, and we only provided the push” 

“We? You and Abbadon? With Sangyeon’s help?” Eric coughed. “What’s your name?” 

“I am Sammael, the hound of resurrection, harbinger of pestilence, seed of destruction” 

“Let’s see you try and resurrect yourself, then” Junmyeon held up a glowing hand towards him. The doctor started to jerk and kneel in his place. 

“What is this sorcery?” the doctor growled as his arms and legs began to jerk and move involuntarily. 

“You have blood” Junmyeon glowered at him. With every single move of his fingers, the doctor began to move as well, like a puppet. 

The doctor growled and suddenly transformed into the black cloud that was starting to seep towards them and above them. “Can we get out?” Eric turned to Hyejung. 

Hyejung looked at the space behind them on the other side of the hall. She created a portal that showed the grounds of the facility. “Let’s go!” she said. Chanhee and Eric immediately took hold of Changmin. 

Eric held the backs of Chanhee’s and Changmin’s necks. “What are you doing?” Chanhee glanced at him. 

“I’m holding your necks so neither of you get whiplash” Eric replied. 

“What?” Chanhee looked confused. 

“Whiplash” Eric repeated, and in a blink of an eye, Chanhee and Changmin found themselves outside, along with Hyejung. He returned to help carry Jaehyun out, but Junmyeon let go. “Hyung! Come on! Let’s go!” he called out to him, while him and Chanhee ushered their two unconscious colleagues out and towards the jet. 

“Junmyeon! What are you doing?” Hyejung said. 

“One last bit,” Junmyeon suddenly formed a big ball of water until it became a wave. 

“I can’t hold it open much longer!” she yelled. 

“Then close it!” Junmyeon said. 

Hyejung couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What are you saying!” she shouted back. 

“I’ll be able to get out! Just get everyone to the jet, quick! Don’t worry about me!” Junmyeon’s water ball got larger. The black smoke was fast approaching. 

Hyejung shook her head. “No! Come on! Leave that! We have to go back!” she said, tears welling in her eyes again. 

Junmyeon looked back at her. “You have to do it, Hyejung. Jaehyun’s life is in danger and we can’t have any of them dying” he said. 

“I don’t want YOU to die! This is not the time to be a martyr!” Hyejung was crying. 

Junmyeon suddenly pushed the big wave of water towards the oncoming smoke and jumped into the portal, some water following as it closed. 

The two of them ran towards the jet, where they saw Chanhee and Eric tending to Changmin and Jaehyun, who were both lying on the other seats, seatbelts fastened over them. “Hyungs, please wake up” Eric looked at both of them. 

Hyejung and Junmyeon turned the controls back on, and in a moment, they took off. The sun was already shining, and they were all bruised, bloody, and feeling beaten up from the ordeal. The two of them glanced at each other after placing the jet on autopilot. “You meant it? You didn’t want me to die?” Junmyeon asked her. 

She nodded. “Of course, I did. I didn’t want us to come back to Summerland with a casualty,” she replied. “And also, because I didn’t want to lose another loved one” she added. 

That made him stare at her. Hyejung quickly caught his gaze. “Loved one?”

“Yeah, I mean, after I lost Himchan during that day last year, I’ve grown quite protective of all of you” Hyejung explained. 

“Oh, oh, well, yeah…” Junmyeon averted his gaze and looked back out the window. “We all lost most of them, didn’t we?” 

“Yeah” Hyejung said. She removed her seatbelt and got up, Junmyeon following behind as they went towards Chanhee and Eric, and the unconscious bodies of Changmin and Jaehyun. “We need to treat them quickly, especially him” she looked at Jaehyun, noticing how his sunglasses were now cracked. 

“There’s a first aid kit here somewhere” Chanhee suddenly said, looking at the first compartments he could get to. 

They suddenly whipped around when they heard Changmin mumbling. He was struggling underneath the seatbelts, as if experiencing a nightmare. The jet started to move from side to side, making them all fall over. All the metal components of the interior were starting to shake, as if trying to come off. 

“Changmin! Changmin!” Hyejung suddenly crawled towards him. “His powers are going stir-crazy, I don’t know what to do” she said. “Come on, wake up, you’re alive, please wake up” she said, patting his cheek lightly. 

Junmyeon went back to the controls, removing the autopilot. “This is all the more reason we need to get back to Summerland, oh no, oh no, oh no” he tried to resist the way Changmin was controlling the jet. 

Chanhee frantically searched for the first aid kit, opening each compartment at the back until he found it. He laid the kit down on the floor and looked through its contents, but to his surprise, the syringes that were inside started floating in front of him. “Changmin, this isn’t the time to start trying to poke us all with needles” he yelled, taking one and filling it up with a clear liquid he remembered someone use before on him to get him to calm down. 

He crawled towards Changmin. “No needles, no needles” he began mumbling. “No needles, please, no needles” 

“You have to, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you have to calm down” Chanhee said. Hyejung held his arm and he carefully injected the liquid. 

Changmin suddenly stopped struggling, his breathing and the jet returned to normal. They sat down on the floor, relieved at their effort. They looked over at Eric and Jaehyun, and their expressions fell even further. The younger was crying. They looked at Jaehyun, and they knew why. 

Hyejung burst into tears and Chanhee wrapped his arms around her in a hug, quietly crying as well. They joined Eric. “We didn’t see this coming” The younger sobbed on Hyejung’s shoulder. The two shook their heads. “We didn’t know what we were up against” 

“I know” Hyejung nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I know, I know” she assured both of them. 

Junmyeon returned, having placed the jet on autopilot again. “What happened?” he asked, but his question was answered as he glanced at the three of them, and at Jaehyun. He immediately knelt down and hugged them, closing his eyes so as not to cry. He couldn’t find it himself to do it. He may have been numbed down by all the years from before, but he knew that losing a colleague was always a painful thing to witness and experience. 

They stayed that way until the jet made a landing at the runway of Summerland, but they noticed that everything was strangely very quiet upon parking the jet. Junhong was nowhere to be seen, neither was Ino, and they would have been waiting for them by now. 

They brought Jaehyun out of the jet, followed by Changmin, and entered the portal that showed the sleeping quarters of each one. “Now that we’re back, we can freshen up and bring these two into the lab. We can prepare a proper burial for Jaehyun” Junmyeon instructed, and they agreed, settling Changmin back into his room and Jaehyun into his own, and the rest of them went into their respective rooms. 

~ 

“Should we wait for the others to arrive for the burial?” Chanhee asked them upon getting out of his room later on. 

Hyejung and Junmyeon glanced at each other. “We could let them know what happened. There’s a chance that they won’t be able to catch up, unless we preserve him a little longer” She replied. 

As soon as they went down to the living space, they skidded to a halt at the sight of red lights, making everything look dark despite being in broad daylight. “What’s going on?” They asked. 

“This only happens if there’s an intruder,” Junmyeon muttered. “Wait, Jacob’s here, Jinri, Jongdae, Haknyeon, Hyunjoon, and Sunwoo… something must have happened to them here” he realized, looking at them. “We need to get to the lab” he said. 

“Say no more” Hyejung created a portal, but they gaped at what they saw on the other side. A big puddle of blood was already surrounding the sprawled out bodies of their colleagues. The source of the blood showed the faces of Ino and Junhong. “Oh my god” she stared at the scene in horror. 

They immediately jumped inside and went over to them. “They’re still alive though” Chanhee felt Jacob’s pulse. His wings were getting squished under him. “Are they?” he glanced at the two, who were feeling the rest of them for a pulse, and nodded. 

“Are they unconscious?” Hyejung looked confused. 

“Wasn’t Ino hyung talking about an astral plane before?” Junmyeon raised a brow at them. 

“The astral plane?” Chanhee was just as confused. 

He nodded. “Yeah. He mentioned something about being here physically, but his consciousness being elsewhere in this space between reality and fantasy” he explained. “Maybe they’re in there, trying to find Sangyeon or something” 

“Was that not Sangyeon that we saw at the facility?” Chanhee asked. 

“Sangyeon was at the facility?” Hyejung and Junmyeon raised their brows at him. “You saw him?”

“Yeah, or at least I think it was him. He looked very different, called himself Abbadon and turned Eric and Jaehyun hyung against Changmin and I when we met them” The shapeshifter explained. 

“So that wasn’t really him. They may be looking for his actual consciousness in there” Junmyeon remarked. 

“Then what do we do?” Hyejung asked them. 

Eric suddenly appeared and skidded to a halt at the sight before them. “Whoa! What’s happening? Are they dead?” he said. His eyes were hurting from all the crying he did earlier. 

They shook their heads. “They’re in the astral plane, but I’m afraid Ino hyung and Junhong are, dead” Junmyeon replied. “Something must have gotten to them in here, but how?” he looked around. 

They glanced at the lab. Everything was broken, but the controls were still on. Chanhee sighed. “Why is this happening?” 

“Come on, let’s bring them inside, so they don’t get in the way of whatever tries to invade this place” Junmyeon instructed, and they carried them all inside, settling them down onto the chairs. There was no longer time for them to mourn, not when everyone else was doing what they needed to do, and were at the places they needed to be. 

“How is Changmin? Is he alright?” Hyejung asked the speedster. 

“He’s still under. It might be a while before he’s all better” Eric replied quietly. 

“That should wear off soon, I hope” Chanhee looked down. 

They sat down on the floor, quietly watching the unconscious bodies of their colleagues, partly hoping that at least one of them would wake up. But at the same time, they prepared themselves when they tell them what happened to Jaehyun. 

“At least now that we’re here, we can watch over them in case something happens” Hyejung nodded. She glanced at Junmyeon. “Feels like old times, huh?” 

“Yeah” he muttered. 

Eric and Chanhee looked at them. “Did something like this happen to you before?” they asked. 

“Mhmm. Back in the Center,” Hyejung said. “We were doing two missions. Mirae and her group were taking on goblins underground, while we were sent back to the Center when a break-in happened. Our scientist guys, my boyfriend included, were badly injured when goblins tried to trash the labs, taking the samples of our DNA with them,” she explained. 

“The one who ran the Center, Professor Jang, the goblin prince was posing as him. For a moment, he knocked me out, momentarily getting my powers to escape.” She finished. “Our professor ended up dying at his hands, which is how Ino came to be the head” 

The younger boys looked down after listening to her. “A part of me wishes this was all part of a simulation in the Danger Room” Chanhee said. 

“So do I” Eric said. “I haven’t even tried out the Danger Room, and now I’m already freaked out” he added. 

“Jaehyun would want us to be strong, and keep going, though” Junmyeon tried to point out. “When we’re all back together, maybe we can all give him a proper funeral” 

They nodded at his suggestion. There was a sudden beeping sound from the controls on the outside and Eric immediately got to his feet to go to it. Hyejung, Chanhee, and Junmyeon got up as well. 

Eric pressed the blinking button, and the small screen in front of him suddenly turned on, and from the other side, he saw Kevin. “Whoa! Kevin? Kevin!” he asked. 

Kevin looked just as surprised. “Eric? What happened to you?! You’re all bloody!” he said. 

“It’s a long story. What’s up? What’s going on?” The younger asked. 

“Bermuda triangle. We’re going to the Bermuda triangle” Kevin replied. “Sangyeon’s here with me. I really mean it, it’s really Sangyeon. I managed to isolate the monster and bring back his consciousness into his own body” he explained. The sight of Hyejung, Chanhee, and Junmyeon startled him as well. “All of you look bloody.” 

“We know. Why are you guys going to the Bermuda triangle?” Junmyeon asked. 

“We’re tracking down the one responsible for the oncoming war” Kevin said. “The one who sent us on these missions? W? She’s the mastermind behind all this. She’s made a deal with Abbadon and some other demon guys to help her take over the world in exchange for Sangyeon’s body and powers,” 

“Wait, did you guys try and fight a village?” Junmyeon asked, suddenly realizing something. 

“No, we saved one from getting blown up. We were misled, but thanks to Sangyeon,” Kevin showed them the telepath, who was asleep and wearing a glowing red headpiece. “We have a lead. Bermuda triangle.” 

“What can we do?” Hyejung asked. 

Kevin shrugged. “It’s a long flight over here. Hold down the fort, I think you’re just as in danger there as we are on the way” he said. 

“Got it.” Hyejung said. 

“So, what happened to all of you? That facility must have been rough” Kevin shifted the subject. 

“Well,” Chanhee was trying to find the proper words. “We weren’t prepared for what came towards us over there,” he began. “We dealt with flesh-eating smoke-shifting demons, other demons coming out of a dryer, getting trapped inside a chamber, one of those demons turning us against each other, wounding some of us badly, and” he looked down. “Fatally.” 

Kevin’s expression fell. “Fatally? Who-who is it?” he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer. He needed to know, but at the same time, he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to accept that someone he knew very well may have died. 

“Jaehyun” Eric said quietly. “He was dragged through the walls, turned against us, and he was wounded at the neck..he didn’t make it” 

Kevin swallowed hard. His heart sunk at the news. “Should-Should I tell the rest now?” 

“I think it’s best if you do,” Junmyeon nodded. “When all this is over, we’ll all give him a proper burial” he said. 

The younger boy nodded and wiped his eye. “We really weren’t prepared for everything” he said. 

“Yeah, it seems so. Not even the Danger Room could prepare us for this” Chanhee said. “We’ll keep watch over the rest of them.” 

“Leave the fighting to us. I’ll tell the others” Kevin said, and the screen turned off. 

“So now we wait,” Hyejung turned to them. “We’ll just check on them and Changmin from time to time” she said. 

“Do you think there’s food at the cafeteria? I could use a drink” Chanhee asked. 

“Me too” Eric nodded. 

“We all could” Junmyeon said. Hyejung created a portal showing the inside of the cafeteria. Everything seemed to remain the same, except there weren’t any dishes coming out of the little boats. “We can get something to eat or drink. We should take turns, two at a time. There are only four of us right now” he suggested. 

“Got it. We’ll be back” Chanhee said, and they entered the portal.

The portal closed and Hyejung and Junmyeon stepped back inside the lab, watching their colleagues. “Himchan hyung meant more to you than I thought” Junmyeon said quietly. 

“Of course he did,” she said. She turned to him, then rested her head on his shoulder. “I still miss him, but right now it seems like there’s no time to miss someone or mourn properly” 

“We should be prepared, in case they need us to be there at the Bermuda triangle” Junmyeon said. 

“Of course, but it’s going to be a long flight there” she pointed out. “But I also have a bad feeling about this place, like there’s something lurking around here, and we’re the only ones who can do something” she said. 

~ 

Chanhee and Eric sat down by the line of boats, bowls of ramen coming out of each one. “It’s strange how parts of this place still look alright. Seeing what happened to the others, I would have thought this place would be trashed by now” Eric commented, swirling the noodles in his bowl. 

“I can’t help but wonder, what could happen to the rest,” Chanhee looked out the window. “Would all of them make it back?” 

They shrugged and quietly ate, feeling a lot more warmed up inside after what they went through. They were exhausted, but they were a little cleaner now. “When this is all done, I can’t wait to take a vacation” Eric said. “Maybe go home, spend time with other people without thinking of how to save the world” 

“This is our first ever mission and you’re already tired of trying to save the world?” Chanhee raised a brow and chuckled. “You’d be a bad superhero” 

“Hey, I would feel a lot better if all of us made it out of there alive” Eric pointed out. “I just didn’t think it would be as bad as this” 

Chanhee nodded. “I guess this is how soldiers must feel when they’re in the middle of war” He paused to take a drink of water. As they continued eating, he noticed the way the water in his glass moved. It was as if something big was moving. He glanced at Eric, who seemed to be very quiet while he ate. He wasn’t doing anything that was making the water or the glass move. “Hey,” he said, looking up. “We should finish our food quickly, I’m getting a bad feeling” 

Eric paused. “You are? You think Changmin hyung would be awake by now?” He asked. 

“Not sure, but I’m getting the feeling that we should check on Changmin, and then go back to Hyejung noona and Junmyeon hyung” Chanhee replied. 

The speedster finished his food quickly, and the two of them got up to leave. The red light wasn’t helping them see what was in their way better, as they went up the flight of stairs and into the sleeping quarters. 

The alarms were soon blaring, making them halt and look around. “Someone else is here?” Eric said. 

“I don’t know, but we should check up on Changmin first” Chanhee suggested and they opened the door to his room, unaware that a tall, giant, white blob of a creature was standing behind them.


	8. Eight

Ino, Jongdae, Jinri, Haknyeon, Sunwoo, Jacob, and Hyunjoon were roaming through the maze in the astral plane. It seemed like an endless journey, wandering through the labyrinth. Even Sunwoo felt that it was endless. He couldn’t phase through without worrying about getting lost from them, knowing how unpredictable the maze seemed. Jacob didn’t dare fly and look over where they were either, so would Ino. 

“The more we’re here, the more I’m getting used to it. Is it weird of me to think that?” Haknyeon asked as they pressed on. 

“No, I think I’m actually enjoying the look of this whole place… it’s like an infrared picture” Jacob mused, holding Jinri’s hand tightly. “Let’s all try and stick together, alright?” he assured them. 

“Do you ever wonder what might be happening to us out there in the real world?” Jinri asked them. “What if we’re already being inappropriately touched or something?” 

“No one else knows where we live” Jongdae pointed out. “The only thing that would be touching us in the real world right now is Ino hyung’s...blood” he muttered. Sunwoo shuddered at the explanation. 

Ino just smiled. “My body will piece itself back together, eventually” he said. They turned a corner and found themselves in a big forest. The sky was bright, and there were birds flying above them. 

“I kind of hate how we’re looking for Abbadon like this, wandering mindlessly like we’re on some kind of trip” Jinri said, frowning. 

“What else can we do? We can’t get lost again” Hyunjoon said. He suddenly pointed to the path on the right. “There is something at the end” he took the lead this time and they followed. The more they walked, they skidded to a halt at the clear border that divided the forest from what looked like a suburban neighborhood. “I think Sangyeon’s put up so many mazes in his head to keep others from trying to control his thoughts” he shrugged. 

“Or maybe it’s a way for him to put up with his own abilities. With all that power he has, I’m surprised he hasn’t gone insane” Ino said. 

Haknyeon frowned. “When you put it that way, I can imagine how hard of a time he must have, trying to tune everything out.” 

The neighborhood seemed to be unsettlingly quiet. There were cars parked in the garages, but no people in sight. The sky went dark again, and only one house remained illuminated from the inside. “Would this be Sangyeon hyung’s neighborhood?” Sunwoo asked. 

“That’s exactly it. Maybe we’re in a memory of his, it’s hard to tell, but the house looks like the one I ended up in the first time we went into the astral plane” Hyunjoon said, as they walked towards the house. 

They stopped at the gate. “Do you think anyone’s in there?” Jongdae looked over at the windows for a sign. “What if this is a trap?” 

“If it’s a trap, then it’s a trap” Jacob pointed out with a shrug, as Ino quietly took apart the hinges of the gate to let them in. “It feels like we’re trespassing for some reason” he said, and they agreed, following Ino anyway towards the front door. 

Sunwoo noticed how normal everything looked. He stuck close to the group, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end of how eerie the place began to feel. The door opened, and they saw that no one was inside. “Can we say that we’ve visited his childhood home after this?” he suddenly asked, looking at the pictures and the furniture that their colleague’s childhood home had. 

“Maybe, maybe not. It’s weird that he isn’t here” Jinri said, stopping to take a look at Sangyeon’s baby pictures. “He looked so cute as a kid” she smiled. “He’s still cute now, though” 

Hyunjoon suddenly looked up at the ceiling. There was a sound of padding feet and slippers. “Someone else is here” he muttered. 

The rest of the group, save for Ino, panicked. “We should hide” Sunwoo looked around the living room for any possible places he could fit into. He could stand behind the curtain, but his feet would show, he could phase himself underneath the couch, but he might not be able to breathe. “Come on, you guys, we should hide somewhere” 

But before they could do anything, a very loud roar of disdain echoed all around them. “That sounds familiar” Ino whispered, looking out the window. 

“It is. Abbadon’s angry. I guess someone must have gotten to Sangyeon first or something” Hyunjoon managed to explain. “Hold on” he muttered an incantation. 

He was suddenly back at Summerland, or at least his astral form was. He looked like a ghost, transparent and floating. He saw all their bodies now laid down on the chairs inside the lab, which looked a lot cleaner than before. Their backs and sides were stained with the blood from the wall, but they were all seated on the chairs, immobile. One of the groups came back, but he didn’t know which one. It seemed that Sangyeon’s physical form didn’t come back either. 

Hyunjoon drifted out into the hall, the red light shining over them. He turned around and floated towards the elevator, and by the staircase he saw Hyejung let out a scream. “HWALL!” she nearly fell over on the step. 

“SHH” Hyunjoon said. “I’m not dead, I’m coming from the astral plane but I needed to check in on what’s happening” he explained. 

Hyejung got back to her feet and when Junmyeon appeared, she put her hand over his mouth in case he would scream too. “Sangyeon’s not there anymore,” she said. “Kevin managed to isolate the monster, so Sangyeon’s with them right now, but they’re keeping an eye on him” she slowly let go of Junmyeon, who still looked shocked. 

“Good. What else has happened?” 

Hyejung and Junmyeon’s expressions fell and they glanced at each other, and then back at Hyunjoon. “You’ll want to really be around for us to tell you” he said. “We had to tell Kevin even while they were out, but for you, you have to really be here” 

Hyunjoon figured it out. “Who is it?” He asked, softly this time. He didn’t want to know, but he had to. 

“Jaehyun” Hyejung replied. 

Hyunjoon stared at them. He didn’t want to believe it, but he also knew he could do something about it if they couldn’t. “Alright.” he said. 

“That’s all you can say, huh? I know you two are very close” Junmyeon looked apologetic. 

“Yeah. There’s no time to mourn. Finding the monster is more important right now” Hyunjoon nodded. He looked around. “Where are the others?” 

“Chanhee and Eric must be checking up on Changmin by now. Changmin managed to survive” Hyejung replied. “Eric got badly wounded too, but it wasn’t as bad as Changmin and Jaehyun” she added.

“What about both of you?” 

They shook their heads. “We’re fine, we passed out, but not injured or anything” Junmyeon assured him. “You should get the monster as soon as possible. Kevin and the rest are on their way to the Bermuda triangle right now, following a lead” he added. 

“I got it” Hyunjoon looked up at the staircase. “Ino hyung’s with us too, he says his body will pull itself back together in time. We’ll be back,” he assured them. He glanced at the hall that led towards the staircase of the sleeping quarters. “We’ll take Abbadon down from the inside. I suggest sticking together, Chanhee and Eric may not be safe alone” and he disappeared. 

He reappeared again in front of Sunwoo, Haknyeon, Ino, Jongdae, Jinri, and Jacob, all of whom were looking stunned as a child version of Sangyeon was playing with a dog. His eyes darted towards the photos on the wall, to one where he was wearing the same clothes. There was no dog. 

“Sangyeon?” Jinri suddenly said softly, but the child didn’t seem to hear her. “Sangyeon?” she called again. 

“Mommy says never to talk to strangers” He suddenly spoke, but towards the dog. “Or else you’ll become like Joowon, the Bad Kid” 

Ino turned to them. “We’re in Sangyeon’s altered memories. We can’t alter it any more than it already has been. Abbadon’s hold on him must be very strong” 

“You think? I’m getting scared” Sunwoo panicked where he stood. Haknyeon was also terrified, and Jacob looked like he was trying not to listen. “Okay, we’ve established that we’re in an altered memory of Sangyeon hyung’s. Now what? Do we leave?” 

Jongdae shook his head. “We can’t. If Sangyeon’s mind led us to this point in his life, I’m thinking that maybe he wants us to get to the monster in chronological order” 

“Very good” Ino looked impressed by him. “We’ll go through important points in Sangyeon’s life, maybe his most evident memories of Abbadon, ones where he really got hold of him?”

“How do we do that?” Jacob asked, and before they knew it, their surroundings changed, and they were standing in front of a school. Sangyeon’s school. 

They looked around. “This isn’t too long ago,” Haknyeon figured. “Maybe eight years ago, I think” he said, observing the way the students behaved and had their phones out. They pressed forward into the halls, noticing the students running around, some grouped into their cliques, others focused on their game consoles, and a few, noisier ones playing around much to the liking of the faculty behind them. 

In the midst of the crowd, they saw a teenage Sangyeon walking with his friends. He was rubbing his temples. They glanced at each other. “His head must be hurting from all the voices he could hear, could he?” Ino commented as they observed him and how he was with his friends. 

“It’s possible” Jacob said, noticing the way he clenched his fist and blinked. “Should we follow him?” 

“We should. There’s something I’d like to try, maybe we can catch Abbadon faster this way” Hyunjoon suggested, and as Sangyeon and his friends passed by them, they turned around to follow. 

They followed him down into the school cafeteria, noticing how he continued rubbing his head and passing it off as a headache to his friends. Some other students were passing right through Sunwoo, who stepped back further in surprise. As Sunwoo nearly bumped into the wall, he phased through and they heard a thud. “I’ll get him” Haknyeon said, running over to where Sunwoo may have phased through and saw him on the staircase, rubbing his back in pain. “Come on, we can’t stray from the group” he helped the younger up. 

As soon as they stepped back inside the cafeteria again, their surroundings changed once more, and Sunwoo and Haknyeon found themselves in the middle of a rainy street. “This is exactly why we shouldn’t separate from the group” Sunwoo removed his jacket to put over his head while Haknyeon pulled his own hood over. “Where are we?” 

“I don’t know, but this doesn’t look like his house.” Haknyeon shook his head, looking at the building they were standing in front of. “Or his street. We must be somewhere else. This must be what Hyunjoon was talking about. We could catch the monster faster this way” 

“You could, but I’m too much of a coward to even consider it” Sunwoo looked around. The street looked deserted despite the lights. “What time do you think it is here?” 

Haknyeon shrugged. The two of them started walking down the street. “Sangyeon hyung must be around here somewhere” he muttered, looking through the restaurants and buildings that had open windows. They skidded to a halt when they saw, standing by the stairs that led to the subway entrance, the figure of Joowon the Bad Kid. They suddenly heard a sound of someone whimpering in fear. They looked back, and behind him was a slightly grown up Sangyeon, who was staring at the character. 

“Sangyeon” Haknyeon and Sunwoo turned to face him, but the older couldn’t hear them. He suddenly fell to his knees and covered his ears, rocking back and forth. 

“Tick tock, goes the clock, Sangyeon is forever locked, tick tock, goes the clock, Abbadon comes to knock, tick tock, goes the clock, Joowon the Bad Kid’s run amok” the character chanted. 

“Get away from me!” Sangyeon yelled, trying not to hear the chanting. 

“Tick tock, goes the clock, Abbadon comes to knock, tick tock, goes the clock, Joowon the Bad Kid’s run amok” The character chanted, skipping around in a circle from where it stood. 

Sangyeon shut his eyes tight. “GET AWAY FROM ME!!!” he yelled and in an instant, everything around them began to explode. The glass from the windows shattered, tables and chairs broke apart, bottles and food began flying everywhere. Even Joowon the Bad Kid was suddenly flown further down inside the subway station. 

Sunwoo and Haknyeon ran for cover, trying to shield themselves from the flying objects and debris. “We need to follow that!” Haknyeon called out to the younger. 

“Okay!” Sunwoo agreed, and they ran towards the station, hurrying down the steps. The kid was nowhere to be seen. The trains were speeding past them, stopping and leaving every few minutes. 

“We can’t have hit a dead end” Haknyeon shook his head in frustration. “Over there! In that train!” He saw a glimpse of a giant blob of a creature, grinning evilly at them. 

“I don’t get it, if Kevin hyung got Sangyeon hyung, his consciousness included, out, how is it that this thing is still trying to mess around with us?” Sunwoo asked as they jumped inside the train just before the doors closed. 

“I don’t know either, but it might be trying to escape from where it’s really trapped. Come on!” Haknyeon shrugged, walking towards the door that led to the other train car. 

~ 

Hyunjoon sat down in the corner of the cafeteria. He needed to think, he needed to come up with another tactic. He already sent Sunwoo and Haknyeon into another supposed memory of Sangyeon’s, he needed to get everyone else in one as well. He closed his eyes and muttered an incantation. 

A bright light suddenly hit his eyes. He was sitting in the middle of a basketball court by the river. In front of him was Sangyeon once again, looking more and more like the colleague he knew. He was holding a basketball in one hand, and stared at the hoop in the other. Hyunjoon got up and observed the telepath, who was already dribbling the ball in an attempt to shoot. 

However, Sangyeon stood still again, and stared at the ball in his hands. He looked around, checking if anyone else was nearby. No one. He let go of the ball, letting it float in front of him. Hyunjoon crawled to the side while watching him. “Okay hyung, show me the demon” he muttered. He held up his hand, and after muttering a spell, he looked at the bushes by the wire gates. 

“Hyunjoon” someone suddenly hissed, making him look around. “Long time no see” 

“Show yourself, it’s only me and Sangyeon in here” he replied. 

From the bushes came the blob, that suddenly transformed into a suited man wearing sunglasses and carrying a cane. “Hyunjoon, it’s been such a long time. Then again, it’s not like we’ve not seen each other. I see you through Sangyeon’s eyes” he gestured to the telepath, ducking when the ball suddenly ricocheted off the hoop. 

“Did you miss me already? I thought you didn’t when you banished me from hell” Hyunjoon remarked. “I know all about that deal you made with the Utopian cult member. Is Sangyeon’s body all you want?” 

Abbadon smiled a kind of smile Hyunjoon only saw when he had something up his sleeve. “I always knew you were smart, Heo Hyunjoon. I may have underestimated how smart you’ve become” 

“It comes from spending time with Kevin hyung” he said. “Back to my question,” he got up. “Is Sangyeon’s body and powers all you want? Or are you planning to take on another host?” 

“Sangyeon is a special one, isn’t he?” Abbadon said. “A good person, pure of heart, thinks of others before himself. Which makes him a perfect means to carry out with my plan to bring on a new age in the world” 

“Didn’t think being a good person would sit well with you” Hyunjoon said. “Almost like you forgot what you truly are” 

Abbadon’s expression stiffened at his words. “I taught you everything you know, but there are still some things I didn’t teach you, so I’d watch what I say if I were you” 

“It doesn’t matter. I still know a lot” Hyunjoon shook his head. “I’ll try asking again. Leave Sangyeon’s body” 

The demon cackled. “You seem to forget that I can be in many places at once. I can hear and see everything, for instance, I know that Chanhee, Eric, and Changmin are in danger” he conjured up a dark cloud which began to spread out, showing his three colleagues trapped inside the bedroom. Changmin, whose face and clothes were spackled with blood and dirt and tiny rips, was trying to keep the door closed from his bed. Eric and Chanhee were doing their best to keep the door closed as well, screaming and yelling when the door seemed to be resisting. 

“I know” Hyunjoon said flatly. “That’s why I warned them.” 

“It’s also why I need Sangyeon’s body back” Abbadon said. 

“Why? You said it yourself you can be physically present, as ugly as you are” 

“My dear Heo Hyunjoon,” he began to circle the mutant. “You are so young, and you still have to learn so much. This world? This world you are in? Can fall at your feet. Everyone will treat you like a god, all-powerful, all-knowing. You don’t have to listen to those of a lesser nature, it’s why you’re more evolved than they are” 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “I’ve heard that all before. Absolute power corrupts absolutely” he sent a hex towards the demon and looked back at Sangyeon on the court. He was gone. Only the floating ball was left. Abbadon had also disappeared. 

~ 

Ino, Jacob, Jinri, and Jongdae were left at the cafeteria. Sangyeon was still talking to his friends. “Sunwoo’s gone, Haknyeon’s gone, now Hyunjoon is gone, there must be something in this memory of his, apart from getting rubby all the time” Jongdae frowned as they observed the telepath. 

“Maybe the reason why he’s getting rubby is because he could hear everything” Jinri snapped at him. “If you could hear everyone’s thoughts, wouldn’t you get all rubby too?” 

“Okay, stop before you two start butting heads again” Ino cut in. “We can’t snap, not while we’re in here. We’re not really here, remember? Our bodies are somewhere else” he reminded them. 

“Sorry oppa” Jinri frowned, while Jacob squeezed her hand. 

Just then, Sangyeon stood up, upon seeing two of his classmates, a boy and a girl, get into an argument, yelling at each other over their table. They realized that they were a couple. “Isn’t she the girl you like?” one of Sangyeon’s friends said to him. He had wide eyes, very black hair that was styled up, and a cross necklace. “Don’t you want to do something?” 

Sangyeon stared at the fight that was going on. The couple was breaking up. “Go on, show that guy who’s boss, beat him to a pulp, you know you can” the friend was telling him. “You can even do a lot more than you think,” 

Ino raised a brow as he observed the way the friend was acting towards Sangyeon, who was watching everyone else try and break up the fight. “You can even kill him if you wanted to” his friend said, but Sangyeon stayed still. “Come on, you’re like a god, no one else knows it yet” 

“Abbadon’s here” Ino said, making them look around. “He’s trying to get Sangyeon to do something to that guy” 

“Where is he?” Jongdae asked. 

“That guy, with the necklace” Ino pointed. 

“What do we do?” Jacob looked at the older. “What can we do? Can we stop it?” he said. 

“I can try” Ino said, and they stepped back in surprise when the vending machine behind the couple began to break and burst. Sangyeon looked shocked, and ran out of the cafeteria, while the rest of his classmates did the same. His friend on the other hand, was grinning evilly at the sight of the broken machine as he got up to leave, looking back behind him, as if sensing a presence, for a moment before leaving. 

Once the cafeteria was empty, Ino reassembled the machine. “That guy might have sensed we were here” Jacob eyed the friend, who was walking unusually slowly down the hall. The friend stopped walking, then looked back. “...I think he knows we’re here. Didn’t you say we can’t alter his memory anymore than it already is, hyung?” 

“Yeah, but this might no longer be Sangyeon’s memory” Ino muttered. “All of you, get behind me, now” he said. 

The friend began to walk back towards the cafeteria and looked around as he stepped inside. He noticed the vending machine and with a wave of his hand, the cafeteria doors closed itself shut. “I was pretending not to see you, but look at what we have here” he glanced at the four of them. 

“Playing devil’s advocate, are we? Pun intended” Jongdae stared him down. “You got Sangyeon to blow up that vending machine?” 

“Jongdae, it’s not the time” Ino patted his shoulder. He turned back to the friend. “So, you’ve been with Sangyeon ever since he was born, even before you took Hyunjoon under your wing, am I right?” 

“Ding dong daeng” the friend chanted. “I’ve always anticipated that all of you would find out, especially when he left to join Summerland, and your whole group” 

“We know what you’re trying to do, by the way” Jinri said. “Sangyeon will never agree to the reality you’re trying to paint for him” 

“What he ends up doing, is not up to you” the friend pointed out. “Sooner or later, Sangyeon will realize what he’s capable of doing, what he’s truly capable of doing. He’s really very useful to me, and I intend to continue using him.” 

“Whether or not you can use him is not up to you either” Ino said, and the friend was levitating a few feet off the ground. “Don’t you think Sangyeon’s had enough? I certainly do.” 

The friend smiled. “You have immense power. You may be perhaps more powerful than Sangyeon after all” he suddenly turned himself into smoke and went inside Ino. Jinri, Jacob, and Jongdae stepped back. 

The friend fell out of Ino and onto his knees. “Perhaps I may be more powerful than Sangyeon, but that doesn’t mean you can use me” he said, making him float off the ground again. 

~ 

Sunwoo and Haknyeon went into the other side of the train, following the character that was transforming into the monster. “We have to be prepared, in case that one tries something on us” Haknyeon advised the younger as they sat down, looking on both sides of the train in case the monster tried to teleport. “You have to stay calm” he added quickly. 

“How can I stay calm when the monster looks like that?” Sunwoo whispered. 

“That’s why we’re calling it a monster. Did you expect it to look like an idol?” Haknyeon nudged him. 

The train picked up speed, making them hold onto their seats. “Are we still in Sangyeon hyung’s memories?” Sunwoo asked. “Because I don’t think he’s here” 

Haknyeon tried to stand up, grabbing the straps to support himself. He held onto one, and then the other, as he approached the end of the car. They suddenly heard a cackling echo throughout the train. Sunwoo got up at the sound and followed the older towards the window. “He might not be here-” 

The glass shattered in front of them, only phasing through Sunwoo. The train began to pick up speed, and the rest of the windows began to shatter as well. They were still in the dark tunnels of the subway, but the view was starting to change. Bits of sunlight was hitting the train. “Uh oh,” Sunwoo stared at Joowon the Bad Kid, who was at the other car, watching them. “I think it’s trying to kill us” 

“I figured that out” Haknyeon fell over. He had small cuts on his face from the glass. “We may as well do the same” he said, crawling towards the seats and holding onto the rails and straps. He looked out the window. “We’re not in the subway anymore” he gaped at what he saw. “I don’t think we’re even in Korea anymore…” 

The train seemed to travel through a desert, surrounded by many ruins. Haknyeon and Sunwoo looked out the window. “You see this? This is not Sangyeon’s memory, but my own” The creature transformed into a suited man with sunglasses and a cane. “Everything started here, I was born into this civilization, treated like a king, gave them everything they desired, with and without a price” he said, in a cold voice that almost sounded like a hiss. “Until some extremists invaded the city, set fire to everything I built, tortured and tried to leave me for dead, and I did die,” he looked at the two. “But, the big guy upstairs doesn’t seem to understand how I felt about those killers, so he sent me down to the depths of hell” 

“A-and you’re telling us this, because?” Haknyeon plucked up the courage to speak. 

“I am telling you this because I want you to know what it feels like to be left alone, helpless, powerless. Sangyeon will bring in a new age, where the strong survive and the weak die. You two are strong, I can sense it,” he nodded. “But unfortunately, you two also stand in my way” 

Sunwoo and Haknyeon found themselves flying out the window and onto the ground. Haknyeon got back up on his feet and sent a big shower of sparks towards the man, and the train car, making it explode before them. They watched the flames engulf the train car. 

“Is he dead?” Sunwoo asked. 

“I doubt it, but maybe we bought Hyunjoon some time” Haknyeon explained. “If it’s trying to kill us in here, the least we could do is strike back” 

A disk suddenly appeared in front of them, and out came Hyunjoon, who immediately covered his head with his jacket at the sun. “So this brought me here,” he said, as the disk disappeared. He looked back at the burning train car. “Found him?” 

“Yeah, but I doubt he died from that explosion I did,” Haknyeon replied. “He doesn’t really die, does he?” 

“How can he die? That’s something I have yet to figure out” Hyunjoon said quietly. He looked at their surroundings. “He took you to his birthplace.” 

“He did. He also unnecessarily revealed a little bit of his past to us, before smashing the windows and throwing us out” Sunwoo gestured to the cuts on Haknyeon’s face. “Before we chased him into the train, Sangyeon hyung made everything explode in this street because he saw Joowon the Bad Kid and-” 

“I think I got it” Hyunjoon cut him off. “The question is, why did he bring you here? He brought me to another memory of Sangyeon’s and I managed to throw him off,” he looked at the ruins. “I think we should look around” 

“This seems like a really big place, how long have we been under?” Sunwoo asked. 

“Hours, maybe half a day already, or days” Hyunjoon answered as they started walking, covering their heads with their jackets and hoods from the sunlight. 

“Days?! We’ve been here for days?!” Haknyeon gaped at him. “You mean to say we’ve been in the astral plane for days now?!” he was stunned. 

The younger nodded. “Yes, that is most likely how long we’ve been here. Kevin hyung and the others are already following a lead to the Bermuda Triangle and-” he stopped and stared at the horizon before them. “Oh my god” 

“Oh my god what?” Sunwoo asked. 

Hyunjoon closed his eyes and raised a hand. The clouds began to clear, and they saw a view of the open sea. “Abbadon was born in the Bermuda Triangle. We are, in the Bermuda Triangle” he explained. 

“But how?! How are we here?!” Haknyeon couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I think we should leave, tell Ino hyung, tell hyungdeul, tell noona, tell them what we found, because this just got a lot bigger than we think” he was panicking. 

“It is a lot bigger than we think. He’s going to use Sangyeon to destroy everything” Hyunjoon watched the clouds shift in the sky. “If Abbadon is being isolated by Kevin hyung’s device, he wants us to follow him, he wants us to find him, and it all ends here” he explained. 

“Sangyeon hyung might die when this is all over, won’t he?” Sunwoo asked quietly. 

“It’s possible. He’s not invulnerable to harm” Hyunjoon replied, and they looked down for a moment. 

The disk appeared and they stepped inside, disappearing and reappearing inside the cafeteria, where they saw Ino, Jongdae, Jinri, and Jacob surrounding a boy in uniform. They immediately figured out what was going on. “Where have you three been?” Jinri asked. 

“Chasing him down, he ended up taking us to another place entirely” Haknyeon said, gesturing to the student. “And blew up the subway windows on my face” he gestured to the cuts on his cheeks. 

“All of you stand in my way, and it’s all going to end in the place where it began” the student’s voice changed. 

“The place where it began? And where would that be?” Jacob asked. 

“I know where it is, and I’ll tell you, our friends are on their way there right now” Hyunjoon glared at the student. Ino stared at the student. He could suddenly see it. Mountains and sunken ships crawling up the surface of the ocean that surrounded an island. Large tidal waves were crashing into the surrounding islands. People were screaming, running for their lives, only to be engulfed by a tsunami caused by the island in the middle. At the center of everything was Sangyeon, whose eyes were glowing and was levitating fifty feet off the ground, arms outstretched and the device around his head breaking. The sky was red, and the countries became wastelands. 

“You cruel being” was what Ino could only say, until he turned the student into dust. 

They stared at him. “Hyung, what was that about?” Jongdae asked. 

“This world will be in ruins if he gets hold of Sangyeon again” Ino explained. “We need to go back.” 

“This is unlike anything we’ve ever taken on” Jinri said to the thunder-controller. “The lives of millions of people are at stake” she whispered. 

“Billions” Jacob corrected her. “It’s like the end of the world has come” 

“We can do something about it. We just need to get back” Sunwoo suggested, and they agreed. Hyunjoon muttered an incantation, and they disappeared from the astral plane. 

~ 

One by one, they woke up in the lab. The halls were still bathed in the red light, and Hyejung and Junmyeon were looking at the monitors outside. Haknyeon touched his face. There weren’t any cuts. “That was quite a trip” He said, standing up to stretch. 

“How have we been in there for days?” Sunwoo was still in disbelief. 

“It felt like weeks, like we were traveling through time” Jongdae stretched as he got up, trying to shake off the numbness he was feeling in his legs. 

“The next time we go in there, I hope it’s not because we have to catch a monster” Jacob stretched his wings, making them move to the side of the room. “Now I’m loosened up-oh,” he noticed the dried blood on his clothes and the puddle on the wall outside the lab. 

“What about Ino hyung? Didn’t he get out with us too?” Haknyeon asked. They looked back at the puddle and at the splatter on the wall. Ino’s face and the remains of his body were nowhere to be found. 

“You’re all awake!” Hyejung and Junmyeon rushed inside to hug all of them. “We’ve been monitoring your vitals while you were under to make sure everything was okay, but it obviously seems like you are” 

“It’s been 2 days at the most. We got back a few hours ago” Junmyeon said. It made Haknyeon and Sunwoo gape even more. 

“Are you all okay?” Jinri said. 

“Yeah, fairly okay. Still shaken from what we went through at that facility. Some of us got injured, and while we waited for a sign, or for you guys to wake up, we tried to freshen up and recover” Hyejung said quietly. 

“So, did you guys find anything?” Junmyeon then asked them. 

“We did. But Eric, Chanhee, and Changmin are in trouble” Hyunjoon pointed up. All of them rushed towards the staircase, sprinting up to the sleeping quarters. 

~ 

Changmin held down the door from his bed. He had woken up upon sensing the presence of a monster behind Chanhee and Eric. He was still in some pain, and he tried his hardest to keep themselves safe inside the room. 

The door burst open and the demon walked in, pointing a long, skinny finger towards them. It was smiling evilly. Chanhee and Eric were already in tears, from the fear that came over them. “We lost Jaehyun hyung, we’re not going to lose Changmin too” Chanhee threw the chair towards the demon while Eric sped past it, trying to punch and kick the monster repeatedly. 

“It all ends where it all begins” the monster growled. 

“Oh yeah? Try and end this” Eric threw another punch, but was held down when the monster caught his fist. He let out a loud yelp of pain. The monster kicked him in the shin, twisting his leg, and Eric let out another scream, collapsing from the pain. 

“Hey!” Hyunjoon called out, sending a hex towards the monster, making him fall to the ground. It crawled back up, and he sent another hex. Haknyeon and Jinri joined in, sending sparks and plasma blasts towards the creature, while Chanhee quickly pulled the speedster to the side. 

Junmyeon and Hyejung suddenly appeared in the room through the portal, and the water-controller immediately went to work on Eric’s injuries. “Why don’t we end this right here? Instead of going all the way over there?” Jinri called out to the monster. 

“It all ends where everything begins” the monster growled, and she shot another plasma blast towards it. Changmin slowly got out of bed. He spotted his lucky coin on his bedside table and made it pass through the monster’s neck and head several times. 

“It all ends where everything begins” the monster hissed once more, until it turned into black smoke and disappearing. 

“Yeah, whatever” Changmin grumbled, feeling his side. There was no more wound. He looked at the rest of them. “What was that?” 

“The monster we’ve been chasing through the astral plane. The one responsible for sending all of us into suicide missions” Sunwoo explained wearily. “What happened to you?” 

“Suicide mission too. Where’s Jaehyun hyung?” Changmin looked around. Hyejung, Junmyeon, Eric, and Chanhee’s faces fell. The rest of them looked around as well. 

“Yeah, where is he? I thought he’d be part of all the action by now” Jacob asked. “I half-expected he destroyed his room or something”

“Hyung,” Eric spoke. “He didn’t make it. He was already gone by the time we got back” he explained quietly. 

Upon hearing the younger’s words, Jinri covered her face as she burst into tears. Jacob was getting a little teary-eyed as well, so did Sunwoo, and Haknyeon. Jongdae looked devastated. Hyunjoon bit his lip, trying not to cry. He suddenly thought of something, but he wasn’t sure if he could do it. He had never done anything like what he was thinking before. He was feeling conflicted on whether or not he should do it. “What-what happened to him?” Jinri sniffled. 

Junmyeon and Hyejung took turns in explaining, with Changmin adding some details. It only made Jinri, Jacob, and Hyunjoon cry even more. Chanhee kept wiping his face with his sleeve. Sunwoo and Haknyeon stood by the threshold, faces covered. They were already crying as well. 

“What do we do now?” Jongdae asked quietly. “2 of our own are now dead. I don’t know if Ino hyung could come back, and now Kevin and the others are still out there” he sighed. 

“And that thing kept saying that everything ends where everything begins. Is it trying to be poetic?” Changmin looked down and sighed. 

“It meant that everything will take place where all of this started” Hyunjoon pointed out. “While we were at the astral plane, Sunwoo and Haknyeon were transported to one of Abbadon’s memories. I followed not too long behind. It took us back to where he came from. The Bermuda Triangle” 

“That’s where Kevin and the others are going right now!!” Junmyeon said. 

“Exactly. It wanted us to find that out. Kevin and the others are unknowingly putting Sangyeon in the crossfire again. Abbadon is bent on bringing about the end of the world” Jinri said. 

“So what do we do?” Sunwoo asked with a sniffle. 

“We have to follow them. We need to shield Sangyeon hyung. He may still be vulnerable, even with Kevin hyung’s device on his head” Eric suggested, trying to sit up. 

They all looked at each other. “Should we refuel the jet?” Hyejung asked. 

“Yes, we should. We’ll leave as soon as possible” Junmyeon agreed. “Eric, I’m sorry, but you should probably sit out for this” he said. “Your leg’s too broken for me to heal, you need something stronger” he said. 

Eric frowned. “Hyung-” 

“We’re trying to avoid more casualties, Eric,” Junmyeon assured him. “You and Changmin can stay behind” 

“Hyung, I’m all better” Changmin got out of bed. “I can do this, you need me just as much” he pointed out. 

“We know that, but you have to be safe. Mirae isn’t here to heal your leg,” Hyejung explained. “She can, but Junmyeon can’t.” 

“Then can I just at least come along? I won’t leave the jet, I promise” Eric pleaded. 

Hyunjoon suddenly turned to leave, making Sunwoo and Haknyeon scramble after him. “Where are you going?” They asked. 

“Jaehyun hyung’s room. I’ll try and see what I can do” He said. 

“Hwall, he’s dead. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s not like you can bring him back to life,” Haknyeon said, but his expression changed when he saw how the younger reacted. “You’re going to bring him back to life?” 

“I learned necromancy as a child. I just haven’t gotten around to using it, so I’m not sure if what I’m going to do will work. Both of you, go back, follow the hyungdeul and noonadeul to the jet, help Eric board the plane or something. I’ll catch up” Hyunjoon told them, opening the door to Jaehyun’s room. There lay on the bed, was the older mutant, covered in a sheet. 

“We’re all leaving together, we can’t leave you here alone” Sunwoo said. 

“You say that like you don’t know what I’m capable of” Hyunjoon gave him a look, then turned back to the sheet. Soon enough, Jinri, Jacob, Chanhee, and Changmin arrived. Before they could say anything, Haknyeon and Sunwoo held them back. 

“I’ll need a candle” he suddenly said. 

Jinri ran towards her room and came back after a moment with her scented candle. “Here. It’s peach” she said quietly. 

Hyunjoon lit the candle and removed the sheet. It was then that the tears started to come out again. The sight of Jaehyun’s lifeless body on his bed, the large dried blood stains on his clothes revealing how he lost his life. They gathered around his body, on either side of Hyunjoon as he set the candle down. 

“If this doesn’t work,” he began. “Then we prepare for his burial. If it does, then good” he finished, looking at all of them and back at the body. Hyunjoon closed his eyes and muttered a spell, his hand hovering over Jaehyun’s face, and then to his heart. He repeated the spell and the gestures, in the hopes that it would work. He wanted it to work. He wanted his hyung alive again. 

Eric and Chanhee looked hopeful, so did the rest of them as they watched Hyunjoon perform the ritual. He paused to conjure up an invisible shield over them, before returning to chant the spell and the gestures. Junmyeon, Jongdae, and Hyejung had then arrived, skidding to a halt upon realizing what Hyunjoon was trying to do. 

“I’ll go down and try and contact Kevin” Junmyeon patted their shoulders before quietly climbing down the stairs and back to the lab. “Let him know we’ll be following” 

“I hope what he’s doing will work” Hyejung muttered as she watched the ritual continue. 

A tremor suddenly hit, making them fall over on the floor. Jacob opened the curtains. The sky was suddenly turning red. “Oh no” he muttered. 

“It’s starting” Jinri said, holding his hand tightly. “The end of the world” 

Hyunjoon continued reciting the spell and waving his hand over Jaehyun’s body. Another tremor hit, and from a distance, he could see it reverberating in the ocean. He needed the spell to work. But it didn’t. Jaehyun was really long gone, and he could feel his heart sink at the reality. “We have to go now” he muttered. 

“There’s no time to mourn for now, we have to go” Jongdae said quietly. 

Hyejung opened a portal to the hangar, and Chanhee and Changmin helped Eric go through, followed by Jacob and Jinri, then Jongdae, and then Hyunjoon. They rushed to the open doors of the jet and got on, Junmyeon already taking his place at the pilot’s seat and Hyejung doing the same. 

The doors closed and they fastened their seatbelts as the jet began to take off into the afternoon sky. “How long until we get there?” Jongdae asked. 

“I’d say, fourteen to sixteen hours at the most. It’s going to be a long flight” Junmyeon replied. “Unless one of you knows how to speed up the engines of the jet, we could be there before Kevin and the others” he added, but no one answered. 

“I’m getting scared” Jacob looked out the window worriedly. 

“Everyone is. It’s always terrifying the first time” Jinri assured him. “The trick is to hope for the best. Not everyone is as brave as some of us, we can only hope that things work out in our favor when the shooting starts” 

“Was it like that during the attack last year?” Chanhee asked curiously. 

“It wasn’t. But it certainly was when we had to investigate other parts of the goblin kingdom. Found ourselves in places we never thought we’d be” Jongdae replied. “Like a slaughterhouse to an abandoned apartment complex in the more rundown parts of town” 

“Even inside the Center we trained in,” Jinri added. “They invaded our place, took our DNA samples, killed our security team, then left” 

“What’s going on now is a little similar, only the whole world is in danger, not just the country” Jongdae said. 

~ 

Back at Summerland, The monitors outside the lab began to flicker. From thin air, bits of light appeared, until it took the form of a man. Ino had appeared once again. He looked at himself, feeling slightly overjoyed that his reanimation worked, and then looked around for a sign of the others. 

He went up the stairs to the sleeping quarters in case anyone was there, until he saw the open door of Jaehyun’s room and the broken down door of Changmin’s room. “Guys?” He called out, quietly walking towards the rooms. 

He suddenly stopped when he saw what was going on in Jaehyun’s room. Ino noticed the candle and the sheet that was on the floor. He also noticed the way Jaehyun was lying down, completely still, with a peaceful expression on his face despite the clothes and his wound saying otherwise. He looked down for a moment, almost as if paying his respects, before his hand glowed and he touched the wound. 

There was a light suddenly emanating from Jaehyun’s body, and it grew brighter and brighter, making Ino look away and close his eyes.The light was also bringing about vibrations that made the whole bedroom shake, the candle falling to the floor. The light then disappeared, and as Ino looked back again, he noticed Jaehyun’s hands start to twitch and move. 

Jaehyun gasped as his eyes shot open, the beams ripping through the ceiling. He coughed as he sat up, the color that drained from him while he was dead returned. As soon as he regained his senses, he shut his eyes, and Ino rebuilt the damaged ceiling. He felt around for his sunglasses. “Wh-where are my glasses? I can’t see” 

“It was destroyed, from what I gather” Ino replied, looking around. 

The younger then sat still. He remembered what Hyuk taught him, on how to control his abilities. He kept his eyes shut and tried to concentrate. After a moment, his eyes fluttered open and no beams came out, but his eyes only emitted a faint glow. “Wh-I was dead” he said. “Hyung, I died” 

“I know, and now you’re back to life” Ino nodded. 

“I-It was so surreal” Jaehyun said, getting up. “Where are they? Is Changmin alright?” He asked. 

“I believe they left for the Bermuda Triangle. Hyunjoon brought you back to life but there wasn’t time to see you wake” Ino explained. “Changmin is fine too, from what I’m hearing” he said. 

Jaehyun looked out the hall. “Then-Then we should go over there, hyung. We need to catch up with them” 

Ino nodded, and touched his shoulder. “Are you ready? I’ll try and get us on the jet” he said. 

Jaehyun nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” 

And the two of them disappeared into thin air.


	9. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final fight commences!

The mood was quiet in the ship, which once again went underwater thanks to the repairs Chanyeol, Kevin, and Juyeon made. It was also because Kevin had delivered the news of Jaehyun’s death that the mood was more of a somber one. Sangyeon remained in the living area where they could all keep an eye on him, and it was more of Hyuk and Sehun’s duties to do so. Kevin focused on piloting the ship with some difficulty, as he was still trying to process the news. They were all still trying to process the news. 

It would take them days to reach the Bermuda Triangle, so they had a little more time than they thought, to regroup and think of how they were going to tackle what was waiting for them in that space of water. Chanyeol was in his room, laptop open on his lap, talking to his family in a video call. 

“How are things? I didn’t think you’d call in the midst of what you’re doing?” His mom said. 

Chanyeol felt a little better upon talking to them. “Yeah, I thought so too. But Kevin, one of our colleagues, fixed up this ship with internet and everything” he explained. “I thought I’d bring this along too since I got bored and I wanted to see if I can call you all. I miss you all” 

“We’re holding up well. We can’t wait for you to come home” His sister suddenly appeared, waving at him. 

“Me too. I can’t wait to come home. Well, after this adventure, I’ll stick around more again. Mirae, Hyuk, and I kind of agreed to do this just one more time, before keeping things at home” Chanyeol explained. He nearly forgot about what they had agreed on, and he hoped Mirae and Hyuk would still feel the same. 

“It would be selfish of me to hope that you do stick around, but I’m just as proud of you for saving the world” His mother said. “Oh, and Jihoon and Jaehwan have been coming here too. We’ve all been bonding over dinner” she explained. 

Chanyeol sighed contentedly. “I’m very glad they are. How is Jihoon? I’ll let Mirae know. She’s probably busy training right now. She does martial arts, you know?” he said. 

“Jihoon is doing very well. He’s been hanging out with Jaehwan a lot after his classes. Well, I understood that since he’s been living with Jaehwan while Mirae is away.” 

“Good. At least Jaehwan’s there to keep him, and all of you safe while we’re here. There was some good to him staying behind after all,” The fire-controller joked. “We’ll be home as soon as this is over. I promise that” 

“Try not to make promises you can’t keep, son, you’re not like Mirae” his father suddenly said, and the mood dropped a little. “Sorry, I’m just as worried about you as everyone else here” he added. 

“I will keep my promise. Mirae healed me, the other day” He said, nodding. “From how things are, I think we have a big advantage.” 

“We don’t doubt that at all, little brother” His sister suddenly held up his dog, a black poodle named Toben. “He says hello, and he’s been pawing at your pictures” 

“Toben’s really grown up well,” Chanyeol smiled at the sight of his dog. “If I had known our ship was like this, I could have tried to bring him along” 

“You will not. You’re already in enough danger as it is, Park Chanyeol” His mother said, her expression serious. “Well, we have to go. More customers are coming in and it’s,” she looked up. “It’s the dinner rush, so more drunk people. I love you, bye!” 

“Bye! I love and miss you all!” Chanyeol waved at them one more time before they disconnected. He sat back on his bed and looked out the window. There was nothing but blue out there. They were hundreds of feet under the sea, and it was going to be a while before they arrived. He wasn’t sure if the call really made him feel better, or if it made him miss his family more. He couldn’t tell them about their casualty. It would make them worry more than they already were. 

Meanwhile, Mirae stepped out of her room, freshly showered from her training session. She had a deck of cards in her hands, mindlessly flipping through them as she walked down the hallway, pacing back and forth and feeling a little restless even after the training she did. Everyone else seemed to be resting in their rooms, except for Hyuk, Kevin, and Sehun, who were still keeping an eye on Sangyeon while finding something to do. 

She was worried about everyone back home, and she was also worried about Sangyeon, Kevin, Juyeon, and Younghoon at how they received the news of Jaehyun’s death. She didn’t know him that well, but she knew that Younghoon was among those who were close to him. 

Mirae stopped in front of his room and knocked on the door before attempting to open it. It opened, and she peeked inside. Younghoon was sitting in bed, face buried in his hands and from the way his shoulders moved up and down, he was crying. “H-hey” she said quietly, making him look up at her and sniffle, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. 

Her heart sunk a little at the sight of him. His eyes were slightly red, and his shirt was tear-stained. “H-hi” He said, and she pocketed her cards as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. 

“I’m really sorry” she said, sitting down next to him on the edge of the bed. “I take it you two were best friends, huh?” 

“Yeah. We’re the same age, that was mostly how we got close” He sniffled. To his surprise, Mirae wrapped her arms around him in a hug, or at least what felt like one from the way she held him. 

“I know it’s hard, and I know what you’re going through,” she said, her head on his shoulder. “But we have to be strong. I’m sure that’s what he would want us to do. What he’d want you to do” She tilted her head to look at his face. She realized how handsome he really was, even when he was sad. 

Younghoon looked back at her, leaning back slightly when he realized how close their faces were to each other. “I thought so too. All this seems too much, our first mission and this already happens, I didn’t think it would be like this” he sniffled. 

Mirae nodded as she listened. Without thinking, she wiped the tear from his cheek. Younghoon leaned back some more at the touch, but he remembered how he couldn’t hurt her. How his powers didn’t have any effect on her. He shifted a little to face her, and she was slowly letting go at the change of position. “It can be too much, but if you go on another one, you start getting used to it” she said quietly, looking into his eyes. She always thought he had nice eyes. 

He nodded. “I figured that. You must be used to it by now” He whispered, another tear falling down his cheek and Mirae wiped it away. They looked into each other’s eyes, and he was slowly leaning in, until their foreheads touched. 

“Maybe a little” she whispered back, feeling her cheeks heat up from how close Younghoon was getting. “The latest one wasn’t so pleasant to remember” She added, leaning in as well. There was an intense feeling coming over them. She felt the need to be there for him, just as he felt the need to be with her. They leaned in some more until their noses were touching this time, the two of them nuzzling each other. 

“Yeah, not so pleasant,” He whispered, and another tear fell. Mirae frowned slightly and wiped his tears away again. Younghoon sniffled, slowly tilting his head. He wanted to do something, but he wasn’t sure if he could. They were so close to each other, yet he was still hesitant to do it. He didn’t know if Mirae could truly be immune to his powers. “Thank you for being here, with me” 

Mirae was feeling the same way. She wasn’t sure of how things were going. There was something the first time they were this close to each other, and if Younghoon didn’t know, her heart started beating fast the closer they got. It was pounding at that moment, seeing how easy it was getting between them. He was vulnerable, and she wanted to make him feel even just a little better. They had other things to worry about, there wasn’t much time to mourn over the loss. There was only this time, this moment to feel all the sad feelings one would get when experiencing a loss of this kind. 

“You’re welcome” She whispered. 

Younghoon leaned in some more, until their lips were barely touching. He kept it that way for a moment. Mirae observed him, wondering what he was going to do, even though she had an idea of what he wanted. “Can I?” He asked. 

She knew what he meant. “I don’t want you to blame yourself if anything happens,” she said. “About time we did it anyway” she tried to joke to lighten the mood. 

It made him blush. “I guess it is about time” He said. 

“We can have the date later” Mirae reminded him, and she was soon cut off when Younghoon leaned in all the way and kissed her. Her eyes fluttered closed as she kissed him back, her fingertips touching his cheek. She didn’t know how she felt about Younghoon all the days since they met, but it became clearer at that moment. She cared about him, maybe more than she thought she did. Maybe she really did feel the same way about him as he did about her. Maybe something could really happen between them. This connection between them was unlike the connection she once had with Jaehwan, it was something more, something deeper, something better. 

Younghoon pulled away slightly, partly trying to check how Mirae was feeling, but he hoped that the kiss told her how he felt about her. “Are you okay?” He asked. 

She opened her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay” she said with a small smile. “The question is, are you?” 

He nodded as well. “For now, I am” He replied, and leaned in to kiss her again, deeply this time. He liked her very much, and he hoped she knew that, and she did. 

~ 

Juyeon appeared in the living area, sitting down next to Sangyeon, who seemed to be meditating in his seat, the device on his head glowing a little brighter than usual. Hyuk was telepathically flipping the little channels they had on the small television, while Sehun was looking through his phone. Hyuk glanced at him. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. I’ve had my moment to mourn, and now I’m trying not to coop myself up in my room. When I found out we were going on a mission, I thought we’d be in action all the time, I didn’t expect us to have a lull in between” Juyeon shrugged. 

“Ships travel slower than planes” Kevin pointed out. “But we’re running as fast as we can.” 

Juyeon nodded, and glanced over at Sangyeon, and back at the rest of them. “Nothing has happened so far, right?” He asked. 

They shook their heads. “Nothing.” 

“I’m fine, nothing’s happened,” Sangyeon suddenly spoke. He sighed and looked down at the bandages on his arms. “But I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen to us when we arrive there. Isn’t that just a body of water?” 

“It is a body of water, but with what you’re saying, it sounds like there’s something more in that space” Kevin agreed, looking at the view of schools of fishes and other sea creatures swimming in front of them. “Like an island or, just, something” he muttered, glancing at all the controls before reactivating the autopilot feature. 

Hyuk looked at him, then at Juyeon, and Sangyeon. “Do you three want to practice with your powers while we’re not doing anything?” He suggested. He glanced at Sangyeon. “On second thought, Juyeon and Kevin? What do you two think?” 

“I guess I could get into practicing again. Maybe I’ll ask Mirae to teach me how to fight” Juyeon said, and got up. “Where is she?” 

“She’s probably practicing again or something” Sehun said. “Or she might be in her room. I’d knock first if I were you, though” 

“Or she could be with Younghoon. That guy’s been trailing after her like a puppy” Hyuk chuckled at the thought, so did Sehun and Kevin. Juyeon laughed as well and nodded, walking off and into the hall. 

“Hey! Wait for me! I want to learn too!” Kevin called out after him, following close behind, leaving the three other boys in the living room. 

Sangyeon and Hyuk burst into silent laughter, making Sehun raise a brow at them. “Telepaths. It’s like you guys have your own group chat and we’re not invited or something” he huffed, padding towards the kitchen and making himself a meal. 

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll tell you: Younghoon finally got what he wanted” Hyuk grinned. “Finally, after days and days. I could hear his thoughts” 

Sehun got what he meant. Sangyeon was also grinning. “You two, really. Have you not learned to tune out thoughts?” 

“Younghoon’s thoughts tend to be on a higher volume than others right now, including yours” Sangyeon said. 

“Great, so I don’t need to talk at all to let you know what I’ll be doing now” Sehun took the plate of a big cheeseburger meal and left the room as well. 

Hyuk returned to flipping the channels telepathically, while Sangyeon grabbed a couch cushion to place over his lap. “So it isn’t really a secret, isn’t it? Younghoon liking Mirae?” Hyuk suddenly asked. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah. Everyone knows. I think Mirae also knows too” Sangyeon said. 

“She isn’t dense. She knows, and she feels the same way” Hyuk said, but with a slight frown as he watched the news on tv. “At least I think she does, but she just confirmed it through Younghoon” 

Sangyeon nodded and looked at the tv as well. “You two, you’ve gone way back, huh? You’ve known each other for a long time?” He asked curiously. “I just never got around to asking you guys when we first met” he added. 

The older nodded. “I knew her before she joined the Center. Her adoptive family gave me a job when I was struggling. I would repay them back, but after what went on a few weeks ago, it turned out that I sort of didn’t need to,” He recalled. “She’s one of my very best friends, apart from Jiho. I had feelings for her at one point, but with the way things went during that attack in Seoul, I decided that I didn’t want to lose what we had for a romantic relationship that might not work out” 

“I guess sometimes, it’s better to leave it be” Sangyeon shrugged as he listened. “I sense you’re concerned about Younghoon” he said. 

“I’m protective of her,” Hyuk replied. “She’s been through a lot in life. I know for one she’s still guilt-ridden from killing her adoptive parents, among other things,” he explained. “I’m still worried even though I shouldn’t be. Mirae’s strong and tough, but I know her.” 

“Younghoon’s a good guy. He might be weird sometimes, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders” Sangyeon said. 

~

Meanwhile, Juyeon and Kevin joined Younghoon and Mirae in his room. “All three of you actually have an automatic advantage in a fight,” She explained to them. “You’re all, well, gifted with super strength” she shrugged. “Although Juyeon can turn it down when he’s not metal” she pointed out. 

“That’s why I want you to teach me how to fight. It doesn’t have to be the complex stuff you do, but even if it’s just the basics” Juyeon agreed, so did Kevin. 

“Actually, I, well, I’m having a hard time trying to remember how I learned,” Mirae said quietly. “Now that details of those times are starting to bleed through, it’s still just details, I can’t remember the rest” 

“Then what about the stuff you do remember?” Kevin asked. 

Mirae shook her head. “Too advanced for you to take on. It’s hardcore sparring” She said. 

“Really? Fascinating” Kevin looked amazed. “So you did like ninja moves or something, didn’t you?” 

“Yeah, kind of” Mirae replied. “How to take down a dozen people on your own, mostly, using real weapons. They all had to die of course, and it seemed like they were all willing to...” she recalled, frowning at the memory. She snapped out of it. “Oh well, that’s not important. We can start later, and no powers, Juyeon” she glanced at him. Juyeon beamed. 

“What about me? I want to learn too” Younghoon suddenly said, making them turn to him. 

“You can learn too, but Juyeon’s the one who needs it more. You can also fly, so you have a slightly bigger advantage than these two” she gestured towards Kevin and Juyeon. “Kevin has animal senses, so he doesn’t really need to learn what I know, though” 

Kevin waved a hand dismissively. “But don’t think that, I want to learn too!” He insisted. 

“You ripped the head off of that robot in the simulation” Younghoon pointed out. 

“You also took on a dozen people all at once” Juyeon added. 

“My strength needs control,” Kevin replied. “I need a way to channel it properly in combat. My ripping things off with my bare hands can only do so much. If I were trapped in a room full of ninjas who have mastered all forms of martial arts, they would know how to take me down, and they might not need to do much” he explained. 

They gave him a look. “So, you think that’ll happen anytime soon?” Juyeon chuckled. 

“No, but it helps to be prepared” Kevin replied. “They might do something to my chi” 

“I doubt they’d try and get to you through your chi” Mirae assured him. “You’d likely be as fast as they are” 

Younghoon looked at her with admiration. “I adore you” he said, and Kevin and Juyeon laughed. 

Kevin shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, I will learn with Juyeon.” He said firmly, and she nodded. 

“Okay, but you two have to promise me something” Mirae began, and the two boys agreed. “Don’t get competitive, okay? We’re all trying to learn here. No dissing, just learning. Do you promise?” She eyed the two of them. 

“We promise” They said in unison. 

“Good. If one or both of you try and get competitive, you’ll have to learn on your own” She told them.

“That’s not really fun, is it?” Younghoon glanced at her. 

“It can be fun” Mirae corrected him. “We can start later, whatever time it’ll be” she looked out the window, seeing nothing but blue. “How long until we reach the triangle?” She asked Kevin. 

“Could be another day, or two days or maybe five, unless we can do something to speed things up” 

“How is Sangyeon hyung?” Younghoon asked. 

Kevin and Juyeon shrugged. “He seemed to be alright. That headpiece is doing him good, for the most part. No visions of Abbadon, or Prometheus, nothing” Kevin answered. 

~ 

Sangyeon glanced at the controls. “I have a feeling we’ll be in contact with the others soon,” He said quietly. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, as if pins were boring into his skull. He tried to shake it off, and the lights of the device he was wearing were starting to blink. Sangyeon groaned in pain, and as he closed his eyes, he could see Abbadon’s face, transforming into that man he saw appear to him in the Danger Room, into a blob, and into Joowon the Bad Kid. 

“Sangyeon” it called him. 

He saw it trying to break out of the casket it was in. “Ah, no, no, no” Sangyeon clutched his head. “Get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head” he whispered to himself. But the pain remained, and the more he could hear the demon call him. 

“Fulfill your destiny, world-breaker” 

“No, I will not, I will not do it,” Sangyeon shook his head and groaned in pain again. Hyuk tried to read his mind, but he felt himself getting pushed out, as if a force pushed him back onto the couch, trying to keep him from reading the younger’s mind. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, but he felt the same force trying to keep him out of Sangyeon’s head. “I WON’T DO IT” Sangyeon yelled, and everything started rumbling, the appliances short circuiting and the light bulbs shattering, causing the whole ship to be illuminated by the blue sea. 

Hyuk tried once again, but he was soon sent across the room. He quickly covered himself from the shattered parts and sparks that flew from the short circuiting machines. “Sangyeon!” He called out, seeing the younger clutch his head. The lights on the device were blinking rapidly. “Kevin!” He yelled, rolling out of the way when a fork flew in his direction, hitting the wall. 

Chanyeol and Sehun came rushing inside the space, ducking when the glass from the lamps were flying towards their direction. Mirae, Juyeon, Younghoon, and Kevin followed close behind, Juyeon turning into metal as more silverware began hitting them, blocking the chopsticks that were going towards him. “What’s going on?” Kevin called out as he crawled towards the controls. 

“Abbadon! He’s trying to get to Sangyeon! The device is blinking!” Hyuk replied, trying his best to control the bits and pieces that were flying all around the room. 

“Please tell me we’re not going to experience another hole in the ship!” Sehun produced an air shield to keep himself from getting hit. 

Sangyeon was writhing on the floor, still clutching his head in pain. Abbadon’s voice was becoming clearer and louder each time. He had to fight this. He wasn’t going to let a demon take control. He can’t let it take control of him. He was the master, not the slave. “Fulfill your destiny, world-breaker, you know you will” Abbadon told him. 

“NEVER” He yelled. “I’M NOT THE WORLD-BREAKER!” 

The couch and other pieces of furniture were slowly crumbling into dust. They stared at him. “At this point, let’s hope he doesn’t disintegrate the whole ship!” Chanyeol stood behind a thick metal pillar to shield himself. 

“Something keeps pushing me away! Abbadon may be doing it!” Hyuk called out. “I’m trying to get through to him but Sangyeon isn’t letting me either!” He added. Mirae got down and crawled towards him. The lights from the controls were flickering, and Kevin was frantically trying to fix each one. 

“So this is what happens when you isolate the monster… it comes back tenfold” Mirae said to him. “Worst case scenario, I hope you know how to swim” she said. 

“Sangyeon’s powers are too strong! I can’t do anything!” Hyuk called out. 

Chanyeol, Younghoon, and Sehun soon found themselves ducking into the mess as the doors of every room burst open, more stuff, including their own, flying out and hitting the walls and lamps. “What is going on!” Chanyeol rolled from side to side to avoid the objects. 

“The device is breaking!” Juyeon spotted the machine breaking apart the more Sangyeon clutched his head. 

“It shouldn’t break! Who knows what Sangyeon’s going to do once that’s off!” Kevin panicked, crawling towards the telepath as well. He noticed the first aid kit by what was once the coffee table and opened it up, taking out a syringe and a bottle of what looked like a tranquilizer. The closer he crawled, he filled up the syringe, but as he was next to the telepath, the syringe flew out of his hands and hit the wall. 

Younghoon’s eyes widened when he saw the other pieces of furniture disintegrate. Seeing Kevin’s failed attempt to tranquilize him, he removed one of his gloves as he crawled forward. “Hyung!” He called out, hoping Sangyeon could hear him. “Hyung!” he called out again. 

“I SAID I’M NOT THE WORLD-BREAKER” Sangyeon yelled, and before they knew it, the glass broke and water burst in, sweeping all of them in a big wave. 

~ 

Mirae opened her eyes. A red sunlight shone over her. She sat up and looked around. She was on a beach, soaking wet. The others were scattered all around, Younghoon in particular was lying next to her. Juyeon’s metal form was glinting from where she was, but Sangyeon was nowhere to be found. She felt his neck for a pulse, and let out a big sigh of relief when she felt a heartbeat. 

She patted his face, hoping he’d wake up. “Younghoon? Younghoon, Younghoon,” she leaned in to give him CPR until he suddenly coughed up some water. “Thank god” she said. 

“Wh-what happened to us?” He asked, coughing as he sat up. “Whoa” he paused upon realizing how everything looked. “Where are we?” 

“I don’t know, but we have to see if the others are okay” Mirae got to her feet. Her staff lay a foot away from the water. It was then she noticed what really was going on, and what was behind them. They were on an island, surrounded by nothing but miles and miles of water and a thick fog covering half the distance. Their ship had crashed onto some rocks from the far side of the island. It was surprising how it arrived there, how it surfaced at all after what they last remembered. 

Younghoon took her hand and they ran towards Kevin, who seemed to be awake but wasn’t moving. “Oh my head...” he groaned, rubbing the top of his head. “We must have surfaced…” He muttered, trying to sit up. 

“And now where are we?” Mirae looked for a sign to tell them where they were. She noticed Hyuk and Chanyeol stirring from their places as well, the latter coughing as he woke. 

“We must be near Africa or something… which part of Africa, I don’t know” Kevin looked up. “But this is something” He noticed the reddish light all around them. “Then again, we could be near Halifax or…” 

“Like a deserted island?” Younghoon asked, and the younger nodded. 

Mirae crawled towards Hyuk and Chanyeol, who were trying to revive Sehun. “I don’t think we’ve said it all this time, but this is definitely unlike anything we’ve taken on before” The fire-controller commented, looking up at the sky. 

“Oh this is all new…” Mirae stepped back when Sehun got up, coughing as well. “Given what happened earlier, we would have probably drowned by now” she said, and they agreed. “How could this happen? I’m so confused” she ran a hand through her hair in thought. 

“Maybe we didn’t drown at all, maybe Sangyeon brought us up here” Sehun said. Juyeon had gotten to his feet as well, turning back into his normal form. “Where is Sangyeon, anyway?” 

Hyuk stared at their surroundings. There was a presence around, but he couldn’t describe it. It felt like Sangyeon, but it also felt like something else. “He may be around here somewhere. What did you all last remember?” 

“Water, so much water” Kevin said quietly, looking where the telepath was looking. “We’re on an island alright, like the one in the Danger Room simulation” 

Sehun produced a big gust of wind to clear the fog, and to their surprise, dozens of sunken ships were surfacing from under the water. Within those ships was a sunken plane as well, and more and more land began to surface, as if connecting itself to the island they were on. They stared at him. “That’s not me” He said. 

In the midst of the land that was surfacing, was Sangyeon, floating 20 feet above them, arms outstretched, the device no longer on his head, his clothes slightly tattered and his eyes glowing. He was the one responsible for resurfacing everything. Mountains began to rise from the ground, some piercing through the sunken ships, including their own. In the middle of the island they were standing on, a big castle-like structure appeared, perched on top of a hill. 

Mirae let out an exasperated sigh. “So, here we are. Bermuda Triangle” She said. 

“I thought we only had to fight this demon, I guess it was inevitable that we have to fight Sangyeon too” Kevin muttered. “I know a lot of things, but I didn’t expect this” 

“We didn’t expect it either, but here we are” Chanyeol said. “So, what do we do?” 

A lightning bolt struck the trees, catching fire, and a portal suddenly appeared. On the other side of the portal was Hyejung, with Junmyeon and Jongdae, who was summoning another lightning bolt to hit more trees to make the portal bigger. “Get in!” Hyejung called out to them. A shadow soon circled above their heads. Up in the sky was Jacob, whom they figured had chosen to fly on his own. 

They hurried inside, Jacob following close behind, landing on the ground in time and going in before the portal closed. They saw the relieved faces of Chanhee, Eric, Changmin, Hyunjoon, Jinri, Sunwoo, and Haknyeon, all of them seated and still wearing seatbelts. “Why are you all wet?” Jinri asked. 

“It’s a long story, we’re just glad we didn’t drown” Mirae replied. She immediately noticed Changmin and Eric, who seemed to be injured. “What happened to both of you?” 

“I tried to heal them, but Abbadon broke Eric’s leg and Changmin may not be completely healed yet” Junmyeon said. “You think you can work your magic?” 

Mirae nodded. “I’ll try” She pressed a button to reveal the sharp end of her staff and cut her wrist open. Changmin lifted his shirt a little to reveal his wounded side. She quickly placed a few drops of her blood on the wound, and to the metal-controller’s surprise, his wound completely healed. She did the same to Eric, cutting through an old wound on his leg open to pour a few more drops of her blood. Also to their surprise, Eric’s leg healed, as did the scars on his arms. 

She looked up at Changmin when she noticed that he was all better. “Now we’re even” She said, and he smiled. 

“Why didn’t I think of doing that…” Chanhee sighed and sat back. “I could have saved him, I could have saved all of you” 

“You didn’t know you could do it, though,” Haknyeon suddenly said. “It’s not your fault.” 

“In a way, it still is” Chanhee argued, burying his face in his hands. 

“So, I take it we’re still in the air?” Kevin tried to look what was out the window. 

“Yeah, a few miles away from where you guys were. We just needed to regroup, and we can explain our adventures when all of this is done” Junmyeon instructed. “Ino hyung’s not here, Jaehyun’s not here, and Junhong most especially isn’t here, what we can do is to make sure their deaths haven’t been in vain” 

“But Ino oppa’s not dead” Jinri said. “He said his body will piece itself back together, but he did say eventually” she added as an afterthought. 

“Well, he still isn’t here, Jinri,” Hyejung pointed out. She looked at the rest of them. “Obviously, this is unlike what you’ve seen or done in the Danger Room, this is the real thing. Keep in mind what we’ve taught you to do with your powers, play to your strengths, cooperate with each other because at this moment, we’re all one big team” 

Kevin suddenly went to the path that led to the cockpit. He pressed a few buttons on top of what looked like doors on either side of the jet. The doors slid to the side, revealing a set of black, padded suits. “Junhong hyung knew we’d be getting into this situation, so we made suits for all of us, even the three of you in case you joined” He said to Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Mirae. “Lightweight, and Changmin’s in particular has some bits of metal here and there, and almost impenetrable,” he explained, looking through the name tags on each one. “For those of us who are unable to engage in hand to hand combat, there’s some pistols that have sleeper rounds instead of bullets, useful if you want to simply incapacitate someone” 

“Just like old times” Chanyeol grinned, taking the suit that had his name on it, so did Mirae, Hyuk, and Younghoon. 

The others gaped in amazement. “Suddenly this all seems so cool” Sunwoo said, looking closely at the suit he got. 

“I know that the fate of the world is at stake, but this is just so cool” Eric was also in awe of what he had to wear. 

Junmyeon couldn’t help but beam. “Alright. Let’s suit up” 

~ 

The jet was soon a few kilometers away from the island when they finished changing. Jongdae and Sehun opened the door, making them all grab onto their seats and handles. Kevin took control of piloting the jet along with Junmyeon. Sehun brought on large gusts of wind that reached towards the sky to disguise their landing, while Jongdae added the thunder and lightning for good measure. 

“Before we get out there, I want to be clear that there is a chance some of us may not make it back. It’s a small chance, but it’s still there. Sangyeon has that same probability,” Chanyeol told all of them. “We’re here to save the world, and kick some ass in the process” 

“There may be ninjas, like what Kevin kept telling us,” Mirae suddenly spoke. “Prometheus will most likely be inside that castle”

Junmyeon faced them this time. “I’ve come up with a plan. Sehun, Jacob, Younghoon, take to the air, keep a lookout. Hyunjoon, Hyuk, Kevin, Chanhee, Sunwoo, Eric, and myself will take care of Sangyeon. The rest of you, take down Prometheus and Sammael” He finished. 

The jet suddenly wobbled from side to side in the air from getting hit by lightning. “Showtime” and Sehun jumped out, followed by Jacob. 

Younghoon turned to Mirae and kissed her, making everyone stare at them. “I’ll keep an eye on you” He whispered and smiled as he pulled away and jumped out of the jet. 

Jinri and Hyejung couldn’t contain their giggles, while the boys were in disbelief. “About time” Chanyeol teased, and Mirae nudged him as the jet landed. 

“If anyone’s wondering, yes, we’ve kissed once before. Can we drop it now?” Mirae gave them all a look. 

“Hey, I’m just happy for you, that’s all” Jinri said with a grin. “Mirae and Younghoon sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g” She sing-songed, Hyejung joining her while the other boys laughed. 

“Stop” Mirae warned them again, before getting off the jet, her staff already extended. They followed, the brief moment of levity cut short as they faced what was in front of them. The figures of Sehun, Younghoon, and Jacob were visible fifty feet above them, the rest of the road that led to the castle was covered in trees and rock formations. 

They all turned to each other and gave knowing looks before splitting up. Just when they made it a few feet away from where they were, they heard screeches and growls coming from all directions. Hyuk immediately sent the other group flying a few more feet away when a pack of flying demon-like creatures landed. 

“I guess the party’s here” Chanyeol got to his feet, so did Mirae, and they helped the others up. “If we split up, we can take them on equally” He said. 

“Alright, we’ll do just that. Split up! Go! Go! Go!” Jongdae instructed them. Changmin ran to the western part of the island with Jinri, while Jongdae and Chanyeol stayed south, Haknyeon and Hyejung sprinted towards the northern part of the island, and Mirae and Juyeon went east. More and more of the demons were swooping down, followed by hordes of the red ninjas Juyeon and Mirae had seen in the village. 

“Metal, metal, metal” Changmin said as they ran, climbing up a few rock formations to get ahead as possible. When one demon had spotted them, Jinri shot it down with a plasma blast. “Metal!” He was trying not to panic. 

“The ground, Changmin. There is metal in the ground” Jinri said while shooting a few others down with more plasma blasts. 

“Oh right, there is, but I’m not strong enough” Changmin felt the ground and closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate. The ground merely rumbled but nothing else happened. He got back up and looked out. He noticed the sunken ships, and felt his pockets. He had his lucky coin. “Cover me while I attack?” He asked. 

“With pleasure” Jinri said, and the two of them were back to back as they tried to attack. 

Meanwhile, Jongdae sent more lightning bolts towards the demons, catching fire. Chanyeol added more as he shot flames at each one, nearly burning down a big part of the forest. “At least I know we’re really out here and not in the astral plane” he said, sending shocks of electricity to the demons that landed, electrocuting them dead. 

“Oh this is real” Chanyeol was floating a few feet off the ground, shooting more flames at some more demons that landed. He looked at himself in amazement. He had become a fire being. “Whoa” he whispered, and threw a few punches. 

“Good, and bad because these things don’t quit!” Jongdae yelled. He electrocuted some more demons that were nearly landing, burning them to a crisp. He wrinkled his nose. “Whew” 

On the other side, Juyeon and Mirae ran towards a taller pyramid-like structure, all the while the former was transforming into metal. “So, how does it feel? Getting into action like this?” Mirae’s eyes were already glowing and she reached into her pockets for her deck of cards. 

“Thrilling” Juyeon smiled before throwing a punch to a demon and throwing another one off himself with his other hand. “Very thrilling” he added, and the two of them stood back to back while they tried to take down the swarm. 

The red ninjas soon appeared to attack them. “You take the demons, I’ll take these ones” Mirae whispered. 

“Got it” Juyeon said, and the two of them jumped off the top of the structure, Juyeon climbing onto one, twisting its neck and jumping off just in time for him to latch onto another flying demon. 

Mirae landed on the ground, right in the middle of the surrounding horde. “We meet again” She grinned, and took all of them at once, piercing a few with her staff while knocking the rest out. 

In the northern part, Hyejung and Haknyeon found themselves at the foot of the castle. “I don’t know if I’ll be of any use, but let’s just say it’s your time to shine” Hyejung told him. 

Haknyeon was feeling the nervousness and fear sink in. But that feeling seemed to go away once they were nearly getting swarmed by dozens of demons and ninjas. Hyejung did her best to displace some, while Haknyeon knocked them out and killed some with the sparks he sent their way. 

The entrance of the castle was also surrounded by demons and ninjas, effectively surrounding the two of them. Haknyeon sent more sparks up towards the circling creatures as Hyejung displaced a few others, dismembering them. “Try and find the other halves of your bodies, ha!” She said, watching a ninja and its upper body fall to the ground in front of her. 

“Maybe send them my way,” Haknyeon said to her. 

“Alright,” Hyejung opened more portals around them, each leading towards Haknyeon, who made them all explode. Haknyeon was soon splattered with blood, and spat some out, cringing. 

“Ooh, I walked into this one” he kept spitting to get the taste of blood out of his mouth. They looked up, seeing Sehun, Jacob, and Younghoon struggle as they came into contact with a few demons. “Don’t mind if I do” He shot more sparks into the air, getting the demons, the creatures falling to the ground. 

~ 

Junmyeon, Hyuk, Hyunjoon, Chanhee, Eric, Kevin, and Sunwoo looked back at the battle that was happening with the others. “How will we get through to Sangyeon?” Junmyeon asked them. “Abbadon’s possessing him, we might kill him” 

Hyunjoon looked at the levitating figure of the telepath from the distance. “I...don’t know” He said. 

Sunwoo looked at him in disbelief. Chanhee and Eric also looked surprised, as did Kevin and Hyuk. “You don’t know?” 

“I don’t know, because I don’t know what to classify that as” He replied. 

“Possession, Hwall” Kevin suddenly said to the younger. “Were you taught exorcism?” He asked. 

It made Hyunjoon’s eyes widen slightly. “Yes I was” He said quietly. 

“Then good. You can try if you haven’t practiced that before,” Kevin assured him. “We’ll… be the distraction. You try your best” 

Chanhee and Sunwoo immediately looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, he’s right. We’ll try and distract Sangyeon. You do what you can to exorcise him” Junmyeon said. He could tell Hyunjoon was nervous. “You can do it. You’re the only one who can really get through to him, and to Abbadon” 

Hyunjoon nodded. “Let’s do it” 

“But first, being the distraction…” They suddenly turned to Chanhee, who immediately knew what they meant. 

“Finally, my shapeshifting’s going to be of use” He said, and he turned into a splitting image of Sammael. “I’ll go first, then you cover me” He started to run as fast as he could, the others following close behind. 

~ 

“Abbadon” 

Sangyeon stopped and looked down to find who called him. Another demon, had appeared out of the trees. He smirked. “Everything is going according to plan” He replied, in a voice that was not his own. 

“Yes it is. Your work is done” the other demon said. “Allow us to continue it for you” 

“My work is done? But I am just getting started” Sangyeon said, raising a brow at it. 

“Is this not your world already? Have you not brought in a new age?” 

Sangyeon lowered himself to the ground. He walked towards the demon. “I have brought in my world, but there’s something else I know” he grabbed the demon by the throat. “I know you’re not who you are” 

The demon began to choke, turning back into Chanhee, whose feet were off the ground. “Sangyeon… please” He sputtered, trying to free himself. 

It was then that a wave of water began circling around the telepath. Sangyeon smirked, his eyes still glowing at the sight of water rising up to his knees and up to his waist. “I’m really sorry” Junmyeon soon appeared, and did pulling motions. “This is how it has to be” he did more pulling motions. 

Sangyeon dropped Chanhee, who fell to the ground, then crawled away. “Blood-controlling. Impressive” He said, allowing himself to be moved involuntarily. 

“Yeah, unfortunately I have to use it on you” Junmyeon controlled him, like a puppeteer controlling a puppet. Sangyeon’s arms were outstretched. Hyuk then appeared, trying to telepathically shield himself from any telekinesis. “Hyunjoon!” He called out. 

Hyunjoon and Kevin soon appeared from the trees and approached him. “It’s between you and me, old friend” Hyunjoon said, staring at him. “Why don’t we settle this once and for all?” 

“Do you not remember? I taught you everything you know” 

Hyunjoon shook his head. “Not everything” He closed his eyes and performed a spell. He disappeared, and found himself in the astral plane once more. This time, he was face to face with the demon itself. “Old friend” 

“Don’t you old friend me” Abbadon said, sending a spell in Hyunjoon’s direction, taking the form of a white beam. Hyunjoon quickly shielded himself, conjuring a purple psionic shield to dodge the spell. He lowered his shield and cast another spell, bringing them back out into the real world, in place of Sangyeon’s body, to the surprise and horror of Junmyeon, Hyuk, Sunwoo, Chanhee, Kevin, and Eric’s faces. 

Abbadon pushed the others away, and Hyuk managed to stop them from hitting the ground and the trees in time. “I’m kind of scared of getting hurt after what happened the other day” Eric said, observing the dueling between Hyunjoon and the demon. 

“We need to do something, help Hyunjoon, anything!” Chanhee said. 

“Oh we can help. We just need to stay alert for any other tricks that thing has up its sleeve” Junmyeon said. 

“For instance?” Hyuk threw off a horde of flying creatures away, to which Younghoon knocked each one out with a powerful punch. “We can do that. The others have a lot more on their plate” he added. He looked back at the forest behind them. “They need to get to Prometheus and Sammael” he muttered. 

~ 

Up in the air, Sehun sent blasts of wind towards an oncoming swarm of creatures. Jacob did his best to dodge every attack and Younghoon made use of his strength to throw off the rest, even going as far as ripping their heads off, as he learned from Kevin. 

“Even in the air?! Really?!” Sehun produced an air shield, knocking a few dozen off. 

Jacob shifted his wings a little, and some of the demons fell, having been pierced by the sharp feathers. “Wow, I didn’t know I could do that” he continued to kill more. 

Younghoon looked down at the scene. So many things were happening and the island looked like it was blinking from the sparks and explosions that came from various parts of the place. 

“Fly, fly, little birdies” He heard the demon coming out of the castle say and aimed towards them. 

“Now we’re being targeted!” Younghoon called out, and they flew out of the way just in time when a beam was shot in their direction. “How can we keep a lookout when we’re also being attacked?” 

“I think that was a given while we’re up here” Jacob said. “We should move down, warn them of what to do” He suggested. 

“Good call!” Sehun said, and they managed to lower themselves onto the part of the island where the jet was. 

They stepped on the mounds of ash that were the bodies of dead creatures. “I’ll go south, Jacob, you go north, while Younghoon, you stay in the middle” Sehun instructed, and the three of them split up. 

Jacob took to the air once again, gliding over the tops of the trees as he dodged the creatures and the blasts sent towards his direction. He landed at the foot of the castle, where Hyejung and Haknyeon were. “Mind if I cut in?” He shifted his wings, some sharp feathers piercing through the creatures. 

“Wow! You can do that?!” Haknyeon looked amazed. 

“I just found that out myself!” Jacob said. 

However, they were being surrounded by more creatures, followed by ninjas. “Okay, what’s the plan for this one?” Haknyeon then asked.

But his question was soon answered when a powerful red beam struck most of the creatures that crowded them. It was silent for a moment, and they all gaped as Jaehyun suddenly appeared, the red beam in his eyes disappearing. “Sorry I’m late” he said.


	10. Ten - Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. :) I may be back with another fic in the same setting soon, but we'll see. 

Hyejung, Haknyeon, and Jacob couldn’t believe their eyes. Jaehyun, their friend, their colleague, the one they thought to have died while on a mission, was standing right in front of them. “But-but, how?” Jacob looked shocked. Hyejung was getting teary-eyed at the sight of him. 

Jaehyun shook his head. “I was thinking the same thing, but I’ll explain later” he sent a strong optic blast towards some more flying creatures that were swooping down on them. “So, everything seems to have ended here, huh?” He called out to them while they resumed fighting the oncoming creatures and red-clothed assassins. 

“Yeah, we have to get up to that castle!” Hyejung displaced a few dozen with the portals she set up and closed just as quickly. “Sammael is up there! Prometheus is too!” 

“Who’s Prometheus?” Jaehyun struck a few more with another optic blast, yelling as he mustered up all of his strength to strike most of their attackers with a more powerful blast. The trees nearby began to fall, and the three of them stood side by side, looking around in case more would come their way. 

“The one in the castle!” Haknyeon yelled, shooting sparks up in the sky to hit the other demons that were circling them in the air. 

On the western part of the island, Sehun took down the ninjas by removing the air from their lungs. Changmin struck the rest with his lucky coin while Jinri blasted the rest away. “Maybe we should all get together, we’ll be able to take them down all at once in one place?” Changmin suggested. 

“Good idea” Jinri and Sehun said in unison. Changmin nodded and the three of them sprinted through the forest towards the east, where they noticed Juyeon’s glimmering form taking on the demons in the air. They skidded to a halt as an explosion occurred several feet away from them, the sounds of screams coming from the very source of the explosion. 

From within the smoke, they could see Mirae and her glowing eyes observing the rest of her handiwork. Juyeon was also heading down to the ground, using the body of a demon as a shield to help break the fall. Younghoon had also landed in time, punching several demons upon setting foot on the ground. “We figured it was best to stick together, all of us” Sehun said. 

“That’s a good idea. This is going to take a while if we’re all split up. Jongdae and Chanyeol have to meet us up north too, where Haknyeon and Hyejung are” Mirae said. 

“I’ll tell them” Sehun nodded, before taking to the air again, creating an air-forcefield for himself on his way to the southern part of the island. The rest of them made a run for it, including Younghoon, who held Mirae’s hand as they raced through the forest. They gave each other a knowing look and squeezed their hands, ducking and jumping over some small obstacles in time on the way to the northern part, towards the castle. 

Changmin sent the ninjas flying 20 feet away from them on the way, almost gliding past everything as he made the metal parts of his shoes lift him off the ground. They nearly skidded to a halt once they saw who else was fighting with Haknyeon, Hyejung, and Jacob from a distance. “Jaehyun’s alive?!” They gaped at the sight of their colleague. 

“Then Hyunjoon’s spell worked after all” Changmin muttered. 

“Come on! We have to hurry” Jinri said, and they kept running. Younghoon decided to take to the air, with Mirae holding onto him as they arrived. Mirae jumped and landed firmly on her feet, followed by the others and Younghoon. 

“Hyung, you’re alive!” Changmin said, eyes lighting up. 

“Yes, I am” Jaehyun nodded. “I’ll explain later” he quickly said. 

Chanyeol soon arrived as well, and for a brief moment, they looked at him in awe as he landed, transforming back into his human form once he touched the ground. Sehun and Jongdae soon came in, looking just as surprised when they saw Jaehyun. 

“We need to get up there” Mirae gestured to the castle. “But we have to figure these out” she spotted more flying creatures coming from the sky. Lightning and thunder rumbled as the sky was redder than ever. There was smoke coming from the lands surrounding the island. 

“Changmin, Mirae, Chanyeol, and Jongdae, the four of you go up there” Jinri suggested. “Jaehyun, you better go with them as well, and myself” she then added. “We’ll go up there, face Prometheus and Sammael. The rest of you, try and buy us some time. Hyunjoon and the others are taking down Abbadon” 

“I’ll be standing by in between to get you out of there. I think I can see what’s inside that place” Hyejung said, looking up at the structure. 

They nodded. Jinri turned to Jacob and he gave her a tender kiss. “Be careful in there” He said. 

“I will” She nodded. “You should too” 

“I will” 

Younghoon and Mirae then looked at each other and gave knowing nods. “I’ll be back” She said, and they split up once again. He watched her run with the rest of the group towards the mounds of rock and soil. Chanyeol transformed into a fire being again and flew up to the steps while Changmin flew with the metal parts of his shoes. 

Hyejung opened a portal for them and they stepped inside, finding themselves in the front entrance of the castle. 

~ 

Hyunjoon flew 20 feet away from the demon in the midst of the fight, unable to defend himself as quickly as he did. Their dueling was beginning to drain him of his energy, and he could feel his strength fade bit by bit. It was one of the things he needed to work on as he continuously practiced his powers and it was catching up to him at that moment. 

“Have you had enough?” The demon called out to him. “We can end this easily, you know. All you need to do would be to join me” 

“Never” Hyunjoon spat out some blood. The corner of his mouth had a cut, and his side was beginning to hurt from the impact of his fall. 

“Never?” 

“You heard me. Never” 

“Now!” Junmyeon called out, and Kevin started sprinting towards the demon, followed by Eric, who sped past him, and Hyuk. Kevin and Eric tackled the demon to the ground, while Hyuk tried to keep a hold on him. Sunwoo soon joined in along with Chanhee, and in a matter of moments, all five of them were keeping Abbadon down. 

The demon only cackled, laughing even louder when Hyuk curled his hand into a fist. It did nothing. “You see, like you, I have my own shield” he said to the telekinetic, and with a wave of his hand, Hyuk fell to the ground, and was seemingly dragged by invisible hands away from the creature. 

Junmyeon ran towards them, and did more pulling motions again. The demon began to jerk in its place. “You’ve made everyone else in this world suffer enough. Time for you to go back to where you came from” He tried to maintain his concentration. 

Out of nowhere, Younghoon then appeared through a portal. He picked up a fallen tree and with Hyuk’s help, threw it directly at the demon. “Are you sure? I’m just getting started” the demon disintegrated the tree. 

Hyunjoon got back up again, and threw another hex towards the demon, who quickly did a counter-spell. Hyuk backed him up with his own powers, as did Junmyeon, who moved his hands like a puppeteer in the hopes of subduing the creature. “If all this doesn’t work, then I’ll have to do it” Younghoon said. 

“Your strength is fading, Hyunjoon. You’re getting weak” Abbadon taunted. 

“I’m not getting weak” Hyunjoon groaned, using all the strength he had left in delivering a more powerful hex. 

“We need more help” Kevin muttered. 

A portal soon appeared from above, their heads, and out came Juyeon, fists outstretched as he pummeled Abbadon to the ground, rolling out of the way when he landed to see his handiwork. “Kevin, Younghoon, they need you two” He said to them. “Chanhee, Sunwoo, go back to the jet, we’ll take care of it from here” He added. 

The shapeshifter nodded, and as another portal opened, leading to the part of the island where the jet was,stepped inside. Sunwoo followed, hesitating for a moment before stepping in as well as the portal closed right after him. 

“Got it. Those demons need to end” Kevin said, and they ran back into the forest, Younghoon gliding until he took to the air again. Hyunjoon suddenly sent a hex towards Abbadon, that seemed to reverberate and knocking the rest of them off their feet. 

“Very good, Hyunjoon. You really have been practicing” Abbadon laughed, getting back up on his feet. “This is getting too easy” 

“It’s not over until it’s over” Hyunjoon remarked, sending a stronger hex towards the demon. “It will be over, and it will be over with me getting rid of you once and for all” 

“But can you really hurt me? You forget, I still have Sangyeon’s body within me” Abbadon taunted. “Kill me, and you lose Sangyeon forever” 

“You’re bluffing, poop head!” Eric suddenly called out. “That’s right, I called you a poop head!” And he sped towards Abbadon, kicking and punching him as hard as he could. The demon was soon knocked off his feet and a few feet away from the space he was standing on. “Sangyeon hyung is more powerful than a poop head like you!” He continued kicking and punching Abbadon with everything he had. 

“Puny human. You disappoint me” Abbadon pushed the speedster away, and Hyuk immediately kept him from falling flat on the ground. “You can fight me all you want, but you know you will never win” 

“Want a bet?” Junmyeon sent a sharp water jet towards the creature, with Hyuk keeping a hold on it until the water-controller moved his hands in a puppeting motion again, in an attempt to control Abbadon. The demon jerked a little. “Your strength is also fading” He said. 

Hyuk made the jets of water hit Abbadon over and over again. Eric ran back, kicking and punching the demon with as much strength as he could gather, and Hyunjoon repeatedly sent more hexes. “The only way we can stop you is together” he said. 

Junmyeon then produced a few water rings and sent it towards Abbadon. The rings were cutting into the demon’s body. He froze for a brief moment, unable to comprehend what he just did. “Wow, I didn’t know I could do that” he looked at his hands. A wide grin spread across his face as he continued sending sharp water rings towards the creature. 

“Getting weak, old friend” Hyunjoon smirked. He closed his eyes and muttered an incantation, and a blinding flash of blue light suddenly hit the creature. The rest of them closed their eyes from the light but maintained their hold. 

Abbadon’s body was getting lashed more and more despite healing just as quickly. He was getting beaten down and held down to the ground. They were all combining their powers to attack him, and if the others were done, they would join and defeat him once and for all. 

Hyunjoon’s nose was beginning to bleed the more he put all his energy into the spell he was sending the demon’s way. “Never again!” He sent a stronger spell, the strongest and deadliest he could think of. “You took me away when I was a child, now I will keep you from doing the same” A blinding flash of green light followed. 

~ 

The foot of the castle had become a warzone. So many flashes and sparks were flying in the air as the group did all they could to fend off the demons and the remainder of the assassins that were sent after them. Younghoon and Kevin were ripping the heads off the demons in the air, hopping from one flying creature to another. 

Hyejung assisted everyone else in attacking the ninjas in various directions. Sehun made slicing motions towards the rest of the assassins, decapitating them and suffocating the rest that came his way. Jacob took to the air, shooting the sharper feathers from his wings towards another swarm of demons. 

Lightning and thunder flashed in the sky, and they could see clouds forming what looked like a hole above the castle. “Uh oh” Younghoon said, before jumping off a decapitated creature and landing on the ground on his feet. 

Kevin soon followed, landing firmly on the ground as Haknyeon finished off the last of the demons. Everything was suddenly quiet, and from a distance, they could see a bright light coming from the beach, where Hyunjoon and the others were. They stared at the mounds and mounds of bodies that surrounded them now. It was over. Or at least a part of the battle was. They were once again covered in splatters of blood, from both the demons and the assassins. 

Younghoon pointed up to the sky. “Something’s happening over there. I think this was only a warm-up” He said. The fear and worry sank into them as they looked at the cloud formations. 

“Our work here is done,” Sehun began. “But the others aren’t.” 

Out of nowhere, Ino appeared, making them stare at him in surprise. “That hole in the sky means that Sammael is trying to summon the forces from outside our world” He explained, in a very serene tone. 

“What do we do?” They asked. They didn’t have time to wonder how Ino came back. “Do we split up?” 

Ino nodded. “Yes, split up. We’ll split up. Hyejung, if you can?” He turned to her. 

Hyejung nodded. “Of course” she said, and a portal opened, leading to the beach, where a blinding light soon shone towards them. As Ino stood to look, another form of himself stepped out to help. She created another portal that led to the inside of the castle, and another form of Ino had come out. 

“Come on, some of you” He gestured. “Hyejung, stand by” He said, and she nodded. Haknyeon joined Ino in the castle, so did Younghoon, while Jacob, Sehun, and Kevin went to the beach. As both portals closed, it left Ino with Hyejung. “I’ll take care of the clouds” He said, and disappeared. 

~ 

Everything was made out of stone in the castle, and Jinri, Jaehyun, Mirae, Chanyeol, Changmin, and Jongdae made their way through the halls that were decorated with giant statues of several demons. “Prometheus? W?” Hyuk called out as they pressed on. 

They heard a whipping sound and turned around behind them. A portal opened and in came Younghoon, Haknyeon, and to their surprise, Ino. They stared at the older. “You’re here” Mirae muttered. 

“I am” Ino smiled. 

“He helped me go here” Jaehyun said. “We were supposed to teleport to the jet, but we wound up here right away” 

“Good, this means we have another advantage” Chanyeol nodded. 

Younghoon went up to Mirae and wrapped an arm around her. Ino smiled at the sight. “About time” He replied, making her stare at both of them. “This battle won’t be long, I feel” he said, looking up at the statues, the bits of red light illuminating the passage they were on. 

“What do you mean the battle won’t be long?” Jongdae asked. 

Ino nodded. “The battle won’t be long. Abbadon is getting weak the more the others focus on him.” He explained. “It won’t be long before they lose either” 

That made them glance at him. “You mean we’ll succeed?” Haknyeon asked. 

“You’ll succeed if you all work together” Ino answered, and they continued walking through the halls until they reached what seemed like the heart of the structure. It was made of stone as the rest of the place, with one giant throne placed on two steps. Seated on the throne was W herself. There were two masked assassins holding special swords that were held from the side. 

“I thought I’d be waiting all day,” She said as they walked inside. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place? I personally wanted more gold, but there’s a sleekness in this style of architecture” She stood up. “Who knew I’d be seeing the two of you, plus the other one, again” She glanced at Mirae and Chanyeol. 

“Clearly, not everyone from the cult has been caught, so you can understand why we’re here” Mirae said. 

“Oh I do, but I’m not going to give in. Not now, not when everything is going swimmingly” She said with a simper. “At long last, I carried on what our dear leaders couldn’t, what his highness Prince Zeenohai was unable to achieve thanks to you” 

“You’re welcome” Jongdae suddenly said, and W just smiled. “So, how did you manage to evade capture? The deaths of your leaders would certainly have the rest of you giving up, even if you didn’t want to” 

“Oh I was, I was captured,” W replied. “I was waiting a call from one of the lawyers in my firm, when suddenly, Abbadon appeared to me in my cell. He showed me the way, the only way, to create a world where the weak fall upon my feet, where only the strongest of them all can continue on living, where I would be treated like a queen” 

“But you would be treated like a queen, in prison, or in an asylum, that is” Jaehyun quipped. 

“Your sense of humor bores me,” W remarked. “I might let that slide, but just this once” 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes and glanced at them. “So you want us to kneel before you, is that it? You want us to lead your army? Cause this much death and destruction?” 

“It’s a price to pay when trying to take over the world, isn’t it?” W asked. “You, all of you, don’t realize just how much power you can wield over everyone. I want all of you to be my soldiers, serving me, and my master” She sighed in contentment. 

Changmin frowned. “You must be very mistaken for wanting us to kneel before you,” and in a swift motion, the swords from the assassins at the back flew to the front, pointing towards her. “We will not serve you” and in another motion, W and the swords flew back to the seat, the blades already touching her head and her neck. 

W laughed. “You can threaten me all you want, even if you kill me, my master will be here to finish you off, all of you” She said. 

“Your so-called master is weakening, you know” Jinri pointed out. 

W shook her head. “I’m not talking about Abbadon. I’m talking about my other master” She said. “Sammael.” 

Out of the shadowed part of the room, came a middle-aged man dressed in yellowing scrubs. Jaehyun’s eyes widened, so did Changmin’s. The middle-aged man began to transform into a black smoke, until it took the form of a giant devil-like creature with horns and talons. Jaehyun shot the creature with his strongest optic blast yet, and as the assassins that were standing on W’s sides began to attack, Changmin did a motion, effectively decapitating and impaling W’s head. He controlled the swords to stab the demon from his place, repeating the motions. 

Mirae’s eyes began to glow and she struck her staff into the ground, causing it to crack, but the hole she created sent a burst of light up and out of the castle and into the sky. The demon cackled and she continued to fight back the assassins, getting stabbed once with their daggers. 

“Close the light!” She called out at them. 

Chanyeol covered the light with a flaming hand, melting the stone to cover the light. He shot flames at Sammael to keep him in place. Jinri and Haknyeon joined in, sending sparks and plasma blasts towards the creature, while Jaehyun shot a very strong optic blast through the demon. 

It was then that Ino levitated Sammael off the ground. “You cruel being,” He said, and with a wave of his hand, Sammael’s limbs were outstretched. “Never again” 

“Hyung, you could have ended this yourself, you know” Haknyeon muttered beside him. 

For the first time, they saw Ino smile a very different kind of smile, a very cold smile. “I wanted you all to have a go before I finish him off” He said. “Our powers are for good, to protect those we hold dear, not a means to destroy and disregard billions of lives” He explained, glowering at the demon. 

Mirae struck and impaled the two assassins with the sharp end of her staff while Younghoon knocked them out. She kicked them towards the pillars. The assassins, to hers and Younghoon’s surprise, got back up on their feet, sand leaking out of their clothes. “What the-” 

They heard someone cackling. It was W, once again, getting up from the seat. “And you thought you were the only ones that had powers” She grabbed the swords and started swinging them towards Mirae, who ducked and delivered a blow with her staff in defense. 

Chanyeol grabbed one of her legs with a flaming hand, scorching her leg, and knocking her off her feet. Jongdae struck her with a bolt of electricity with one hand, while doing the same to Sammael with the other. W was beginning to shake uncontrollably at the electricity, with the flesh on her leg getting melted off bit by bit the longer Chanyeol had a hold on her. 

The light was fluctuating, but more thunder and lightning was heard from the sky. Ino was suddenly fading in front of them, until he completely disappeared, as did the light coming from the ground. “Ino!” They all said, but didn’t stop trying to get a hold on both Sammael, the assassins, and W. 

Mirae was fighting off the two assassins with everything in her, while Jinri and Haknyeon kept the monster at bay with their blasts and sparks as did Changmin and Jaehyun. “We need to destroy this place” she said, when she stood back to back with Younghoon as they fought. 

“But how?” Younghoon ducked a few times when W swung the swords towards him. Mirae quickly shielded him with her staff while kicking the other assassins away. 

“I may have to do a repeat of what happened during the attack” She replied, managing to grab one of their other daggers and stabbed the assassins repeatedly, breaking their bones with a swift kick to their backs. 

“What did you do during that time?” He asked, running out of the way when he got cornered against the pillar, dodging another blow. 

She shrugged. “I’ll figure it out” She said, throwing the dagger to one side and disconnecting her staff in half. “This fight doesn’t seem to end” she added. 

“Our leaders have trained you well,” W said to her. “You’ve become quite the mercenary you were made to be” 

Mirae pushed Younghoon out of the way to block every strike of W’s swords with her staff. “I am not a mercenary, I don’t work for you and I never will” and with a swift kick, W slid to the other side of the room against the throne. 

“We really might have to do something drastic!” Changmin stepped up, pointing the swords once more at W and at the assassins Younghoon hurled towards her. “Torture seems too light a punishment” 

“You will not live beyond today, that I’m sure of” Mirae reconnected her staff and struck the end to the ground, sending a surge of energy and making the floor crack up towards W and the assassins. Changmin went ahead and impaled W with the assassins against the throne. 

~ 

Everyone had surrounded Abbadon. They were using the full force of each of their powers, from Junmyeon, to Hyuk, to Hyunjoon. Juyeon, Eric, Kevin, Jacob, and Sehun were doing the same, sensing that the demon was weakening and that it was getting defeated inch by inch. There was another flash of light and it sent a shock wave, making them fall over from the impact. 

Sangyeon was in the middle, his eyes still glowing. Before he could attack, Hyunjoon sent another spell towards his direction, taking the form of a yellow light. Hyuk went back to try and get a hold of him, but the telepath attacked as well, keeping him still, as if frozen. Sehun sent a huge gust of wind, causing Sangyeon to lose focus. “We can’t kill him!” Junmyeon told everyone. 

“We aren’t, but we might have to fight him” Hyunjoon called out, more drops of blood trickling from his nose as he gathered his remaining strength to get through to Sangyeon. “Hyung, hyung, please… if you can hear me, get out of there” the yellow light grew larger and larger, and it sent another shockwave. 

They fell to the ground, Juyeon, Kevin, and Eric getting back up on their knees to see what happened. Ino had stopped Sangyeon from doing any more damage. He had the telepath a few feet in the air, but his eyes were closed, as if his whole body went limp. 

Black smoke emerged from his body, taking the form of Abbadon’s face once again. “Go back to where you came from” Ino said quietly, his palm up as if trying to contain the demon in this phase. 

“Sooner or later, you will all realize,” The demon growled. “That your efforts of protecting the world are futile” 

“Not if we have anything to say about it” Ino said. “The amount of cruelty you have in you is astounding, but at the end of the day, it’s the good that wins” And he disintegrated the smoke into nothingness. 

They looked up and saw the sky begin to shift and change. No longer was it as red, but it was beginning to lighten. The hole they saw was starting to close. The rest of them got back on their feet, but to their surprise, Ino suddenly disappeared, and Sangyeon fell to the ground. 

“Sangyeon?” Junmyeon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he approached the younger. He wasn’t moving. There was something odd about the way he was lying there. They went closer to see if he was breathing. 

“Sangyeon? Hyung?” Hyunjoon said. Still no movement. He bent down to check for a pulse. He looked up at the rest. 

“What? Is he alive? Is he dead?” Sehun asked. 

“He is, but barely. He’s dying” Hyunjoon said, and their expressions fell. 

“We have to get him back to the jet! Quick!” Junmyeon instructed, and Kevin hoisted the telepath up, letting Jacob take him towards the portal that suddenly opened. “Those who can still fight, go over to the castle. They’ll need you there!” He said. 

Hyuk nodded, and along with Juyeon, they raced towards another portal that led to the inside of the castle. They stepped inside, and ran towards the place where they heard a lot of swishing and rubble crashing. They stopped and saw what was happening. Juyeon quickly joined Younghoon in fighting the assassins that were trying to break free from the swords while Changmin did all he could to subdue the demon. 

“You nearly kill me, you killed Jaehyun, and now you plan on killing everyone else. That’s not a good thing” Changmin pressed his palm to the ground. The whole place rumbled, nearly putting them all off-balance. Out of the ground rose bits of metal and stone, covering them up from head to toe like a cocoon. Jaehyun sent another optic blast, sealing the edges to make sure they never got out. 

Hyuk focused on Sammael, spreading his fingers as if to make the demon spread out. “Keep doing what you’re doing!” He told Jinri and Haknyeon, who were shooting more beams and sparks towards the creature. “Never again will earth be at the mercy of your kind” 

Mirae stared at what was happening. “I have an idea” she muttered, and took out the remainder of her deck of cards. “I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I have to try” She said. Her eyes began to change. It wasn’t the red glow that usually appeared, but an inky black. She approached the assassins and W, who were squirming and touched their heads with the cards. 

W screamed, and they watched as what looked like their spirits were getting sucked out of themselves and into the cards she was holding. Her eyes went back to normal and she looked at her cards. It had turned a shade of black as well, and she could see the warped faces of the assassins and W on each side. 

“Wow...what did you just do?” Juyeon asked, in disbelief over what he just saw. 

“Their souls are now trapped inside these cards” Mirae also looked surprised at what she did. “They’re still alive, but only just…” She handed them over to Chanyeol. “Care to do the honors?” 

Chanyeol looked at her, as if trying to figure out how she felt by all of this, by this ability that he had never seen her develop before. It had become a day where they did figure out what else they were capable of, and this just so happened to be hers. He nodded, and in seconds, the cards he was holding turned to ash and dust. Changmin in turn, sealed off the rest of them with the bits of stone and metal that came out. 

They then watched Hyuk, Jinri, Jongdae, and Haknyeon do what they could to weaken and defeat Sammael. “It’s getting weaker” Hyuk said with a groan, gathering the rest of his remaining strength. He held his hand up to where he figured was the demon’s heart, and a sound of ripping flesh soon followed. 

Hyuk had the demon’s heart in his hands. It was still beating, while Sammael was still alive. “We need to blow this place up” Chanyeol suggested. 

“I think that may be the only way for us to succeed” Hyuk nodded. They turned to Mirae, who knew what he meant. “I’ll help you” 

Younghoon also knew what they meant. “I’ll stay here with you too. I’m not going to lose you like this” He said. 

Mirae shook her head. “You won’t. I promised you that” She said. “Hyejung will be waiting for us down there. Jinri, Haknyeon, Juyeon, Changmin, even you Chanyeol, all of you have to go now” She turned to the rest of them. “Go to Hyejung, she’ll bring you guys to the jet. I’m sure they’re all there by now” She glanced at the view of the outside. It had gotten quiet. “Go, now” She said. 

“No,” Chanyeol said. “I’m not leaving without you. I’m staying here. If there’s a situation where our lives may be at risk, I’d rather go down with you guys” 

Mirae stared at them for a moment, then took out another card. Her eyes glowed red once again as she charged the card, placing it inside the demon’s body. “Now we have to go” She said, taking out another card as they raced out of the room and towards the steps where Hyejung was waiting. She opened a portal leading to the jet, where everyone else was, calling on them to get in. 

“Go!” Mirae gestured for them to board the plane as she stepped through, charging as many cards in her hand as she could, flinging them back in to the foot of the structure. A big tremor suddenly hit as the whole place exploded before she could board the jet, barely hanging on when Kevin and Junmyeon piloted the ship away. Younghoon stood by to help her inside, and as the door closed, a big silence fell over them. 

From above, they watched as the island crumbled back into the sea, the land formations sinking into the water, restoring everything back in its place. The sky had returned to normal as well, and from their view, it seemed like things had never happened, like it was only a momentary glitch in the reality they were faced with not too long ago. 

~ 

Sangyeon woke up. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping outside his window. He looked down at himself. He was wearing his normal pajamas. There were no wounds, no cuts, he looked and felt well-rested. But did he really rest? He was suddenly disoriented by his surroundings. He heard the sounds of doors closing and footsteps. How was he back in Summerland? Was this even real?

“Oh, hey, you’re awake” Mirae was peeking through his room. 

The telepath stared at her. “Awake? I was asleep?” He asked. 

Mirae raised a brow. “Uh yeah, you have been for a while now. Two weeks at the most” She said. “Are you okay?” She asked. “You look pretty shaken.” 

Sangyeon had to ask. He wanted to be sure. “I-I-uh, Bermuda triangle, demons, explosions, boom. Did-did we do something like that?” 

Mirae squinted, trying to think of what he was saying. “Recently? I don’t think we did. You were probably having some very vivid dreams” She said. 

“Maybe,” He said, still a little confused. “Where are the others?” He asked. 

“They’re out there, practicing with their powers. I was just coming by to see you before I leave.” She said. 

“Leave? Like going home and coming back tomorrow?” The telepath asked. 

Mirae smiled. “Well, no, I’m not. I think you can hold your own ground pretty well, with or without my guidance” She explained. 

That made him frown a little. He knew what she meant. “Won’t Younghoon be sad too? Does he know? I mean surely you two tell each other a lot of stuff by now, given that you’re dating or something” 

She gave him a look. “Younghoon? What?” She was now just as confused as he was. 

He sighed and got up. “Both of you, together. What happened just felt so real and so vivid, you know?” 

Mirae couldn’t help but laugh. “Me and Younghoon? Dating? Those must be incredibly vivid dreams” She said. “Well, now that I’ve seen you, I’m sure the others would be dying to do the same.” She stepped inside the room. “It’s been really nice meeting you, Lee Sangyeon” she gave him a quick hug. 

“It’s been nice meeting you too, Lee Mirae” He said. “You’re amazing” He added, making her laugh. 

“Are you still sleepy? You must be” She said, pulling away and waving at him before leaving the room. As she closed the door, Younghoon stood nearby with a smile on his face. “He’s awake” she said, holding his ungloved hand while he laced their fingers together. 

Younghoon nodded. “About time too. I guess Hyunjoon’s spells and enchantments were effective. Junhong hyung did good work too while he was under” 

Mirae nodded. “He reanimated with Ino oppa’s help. Good thing too, because Kevin needs all the help he can get.” 

“And he doesn’t remember anything, does he?” Younghoon asked. 

“He sort of does, but I tried to tell him it was all a dream” 

Younghoon frowned a little at the thought. While it seemed wrong to point out that everything really happened, he also knew not mentioning anything would help him a lot. It would remove all the guilt he would feel upon waking up. But what made him sad even more was the fact that Mirae was leaving. Just when things were getting started between the two of them. “I’ll call or visit you” 

Mirae squeezed his hand. “That would be nice. I don’t want you giving up a chance to see what else you’re capable of. Once you’ve figured that out, or if ever you decide to leave, I’ll be there, as I always will be.” 

He smiled and gave her a kiss. “I’ll be here if you decide to come back, or wherever you go” 

~ 

“Are you sure you three don’t want to stay and teach?” Ino asked them in his office later that day. There was a sadness in the way he said it. 

Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Mirae looked at each other and then back to him. “We were set on this decision from the start. After what happened during the attack, and then with the Utopians, and then what happened two weeks ago, we knew that this isn’t for us” Chanyeol explained, as nicely and as carefully as he could. 

“Plus,” Mirae looked around. “I think they’re more than capable of doing missions on their own. They are all powerful enough to save the world, and they don’t need us to do it. We’ve guided them enough on this and it’s safe to say that they can take it from here” She said with a small smile. “They belong in the saving the world group, we belong in the street-level thugs and criminal empires one” 

Ino nodded. He understood why they made their decision, but he was still quite sad. He got up from his desk. “You three do have a point. We all have our place in this world, and for you three it’s close to home. It’s been a great honor seeing you all grow from the Center of Paranormal Research to here,” he beamed. “Good luck out there. The three of you” 

“In case of emergencies, you know where to find us?” Hyuk said, and the four of them exchanged hugs and pats on the back as they left the office and into the hallway that led to the living area, where everyone was waiting for them. 

“We sort of got Ino hyung’s message, and we wanted to wish you good luck and see you all off” Kevin smiled. 

“It’s not like we’re leaving the country. We’ll just be back to our lives as they were before we came here” Chanyeol laughed. “It’s been great teaching all of you, I think you’ve all got enough experience to practice on your own.” 

Sangyeon looked a little confused, but smiled anyway. “Experience?” 

“We were all taking turns in the Danger Room. The simulations can be very realistic” Jaehyun said, exchanging looks with Hyunjoon. 

“You can smell the wind, the smoke, everything” Junmyeon added. “You can even feel the water too. Junhong has his work cut out for him” He glanced at the younger, who beamed. 

They smiled. “Yeah, and you’re all very powerful too” Hyuk said. “I’m sure we’ll all bump into each other someday. I won’t be surprised if it’s Younghoon, but you know” he joked, and they laughed. 

The boys followed them out of the building and towards the parking area where Hyuk’s car was. Younghoon went up to Mirae and gave her another kiss before pulling away with a smile. “I’ll see you soon” He said. 

She smiled. “I wonder how I’ll explain you to Jihoon. Will he be alright with it? Will Jaehwan also be alright with it” 

He shrugged. “Whatever happens, happens.” He gave her another kiss and pulled away.

Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae waved at them one more time before getting into the car. As Hyuk began to drive them away, they glanced at each other, partly wondering if they made the wrong decision. They smiled, and Chanyeol and Mirae sat back in their seats. 

The End.


End file.
